The Venture Codex

Participated · Grant · Apr 2026

Altilium Clean Technology focuses on commercial-scale recycling of end-of-life electric vehicle batteries to recover battery-grade materials such as nickel mixed hydroxide precipitate, lithium sulphate, and graphite. The company is developing the ACT3 facility in Plymouth, Devon, which is shovel-ready and aims to process up to 24,000 EV batteries per year, with permitting underway. Altilium plans a follow-on ACT4 facility to expand capacity to handle up to 150,000 batteries annually and to host the UK’s only production of cathode active materials. The business expects the ACT3 project to create about 70 high-value clean technology jobs in the South West of England. Its recent capital injection is an £18.5 million government grant from the DRIVE35 Scale-Up Fund, intended to accelerate scale-up of its recycling capabilities and support a domestic circular battery materials supply chain.

Led · Grant · Jun 2022

OX Delivers builds purpose-built electric trucks and operates a transport-as-a-service model that lets customers book space by kilogram-per-kilometre via an app or toll-free number. The company’s core product is the OX4 Truck; it is preparing a third-generation OX4 with improved driving position, visibility, chassis upgrades, and a proprietary vehicle control unit. OX Delivers runs a pilot service in Rwanda and plans to electrify two depots as flagship charge-point projects to support rural charging infrastructure. The service has supported over 4,000 customers with 80% of orders coming from repeat customers. Funding to date includes grants from Innovate UK’s Energy Catalyst, the UK government, USAID, and support from angel investors; the company cites roughly $10 million of equity invested alongside grant funding. OX Delivers aims to scale across East Africa and beyond to reach billions of people in developing countries without affordable, sustainable transport. OX Delivers is developing purpose-designed electric trucks engineered for the tough terrain found in emerging markets and designed to be shipped flat-pack for in-country assembly. The company retains ownership of vehicles and sells space on a pay-as-you-go basis to keep trucks accessible for rural entrepreneurs. OX prioritizes lifetime ownership costs over meeting an upfront sale price. Its first market is Rwanda, where it already operates a logistics business and plans to showcase the EV OX at the upcoming CHOGM. The company was awarded a multi-million-pound UK government grant to accelerate development and has opened an EIS-eligible funding round for angel investors. Collaborators on the project include Dana, Potenza, Coventry University, and FLAGS Software, which will help develop advanced affordable EV technology and a supporting digital ecosystem. OX Delivers builds electric all-terrain OX trucks and operates a pay-as-you-go smart logistics platform serving customers in Rwanda with R&D based in Warwickshire, UK. The company has demonstrated its electric truck at COP26 and at industry shows and runs pilot operations in Rwanda. Recent product and operational priorities include putting the first EV trucks into operation in Rwanda, expanding depots and warehouse facilities there, growing the DriverPlus team, and developing the digital platform to improve efficiency and lower transport prices. Since starting operations in March 2021, OX operations have grown 40% month-on-month; December revenues implied a $180,000 annual run-rate and the company added 40 customers that month. The team has grown to 44 people and a new facility has opened in Warwickshire to support R&D and scale-up. The company describes its model as sustainably driving trade for rural Sub‑Saharan Africa and plans expansion in both Rwanda and the UK.

Led · Grant · Oct 2021

Tevva builds zero-emission 7.5-tonne commercial trucks, offering a battery-electric model with a 160-mile range and a variant with a small reserve hydrogen fuel cell that extends range to 310 miles. The company can provide hydrogen as a service to customers to offset limited hydrogen refuelling infrastructure. CEO Asher Bennett said most customers are expected to opt for the hydrogen-range extender for greater flexibility. Tevva is ramping production at a new London plant and aims to deliver its first vehicles to customers by the end of 2022. It intends to produce several hundred trucks by end-2022 and targets annual production of 3,000 trucks by 2023. The company plans a series of small factories close to customers and will consider further sites in North America and the European Union once the London plant is operating at scale. UPS is currently using 15 test-model Tevva trucks as a commercial reference. Tevva develops medium-to-heavy duty commercial electric vehicles and has upgraded its patented range-extender technology to use hydrogen fuel cells. The company is targeting the 7.5–19t "back to base" logistics market and recently unveiled a 7.5-tonne electric truck slated for mass production in the UK, with pre-orders available and first deliveries from Q3 2022. Offered range is up to 160 miles in pure BEV form or up to 310 miles with its range extender. Tevva received a £4.2m grant from the UK’s Advanced Propulsion Centre to advance the SANGREAL Project, a £12.2m collaboration with Advanced Electric Machines (AEM). SANGREAL focuses on designing a new electric transaxle, vehicle propulsion control system and on-board telematics to optimise hydrogen fuel-cell range-extender use, improve operating range and reliability, and enable predictive and preventative servicing. The funding is intended to accelerate development of Tevva’s next-generation zero-emissions capable trucks and help bring its technology to market. Tevva Motors designs and manufactures mid- to large-size range-extended electric trucks and related battery/BMS technology. The company closed an oversubscribed $12.5M financing round to continue development and rollout of those trucks. Its product suite includes an optional range-extender (REx) and batteries/BMS, with smaller trucks and vans claiming roughly 150 km of range. Tevva is diversifying its lineup to cover medium- and heavy-duty trucks and is working with food retailer Savona to develop an electric refrigerated truck. The company announced an EV starter set to help logistics fleets begin electrifying medium-duty HGVs and planned to launch that programme in the spring. Management says the funds will better position Tevva to meet growing demand in the global delivery truck market. Tevva Motors is incorporated under the Companies (Jersey) Law 1991 and carries out its operations from Chelmsford, UK. The company provides electric powertrain solutions for commercial vehicles and buses in the 7.5–14 tonne weight category. Tevva plans to extend its offerings for the development of new commercial vehicles, especially trucks and buses. A strategic investment from Bharat Forge is intended to enable Tevva to scale up its UK operations and put more electric trucks onto Britain’s roads. The deal also grants Bharat Forge a licence to commercialise Tevva technology within India and to strengthen R&D activities in e‑mobility. Tevva and Bharat Forge expect the funding to support product development that complements OEM requirements and to grow revenue per vehicle.

Led · Equity · Jul 2021

Ilika develops Goliath, a solid-state battery technology designed for electric vehicles with the potential for extended range and faster charging than present-day EV batteries. The company says it is working with OEMs and building an ecosystem of global expertise to mature the technology. Ilika is preparing to scale up production and has a Framework Agreement in place with the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre. Ilika was selected for the Advanced Propulsion Centre’s Technology Developer Accelerator Programme to accelerate commercialisation and time to market. The company is positioning Goliath to meet automotive market requirements through collaboration with industry stakeholders under the APC programme. No operating metrics (revenue/users) are disclosed in the article.

Led · Equity · Mar 2021

Shield Manufacturing Technologies, based in Southam, Warwickshire, is developing the e-MOTIF (e-axle with Motor Inverter and Flywheel), which integrates a motorsport-derived lightweight energy recovery system with a new motor and inverter for electric cars and vans. The company aims to cut energy consumption and CO2 emissions through a scalable, cost-effective power-dense electric drive module. e-MOTIF combines flywheel energy recovery technology from motorsport with bespoke motor and inverter engineering to improve vehicle efficiency. Shield says the programme will support three new manufacturing centres opening across the UK and create skilled roles and opportunities for the region’s supplier base. The company is advancing production readiness via an APC-guided R&D project supported by government and industry funding.