Integrals Power completes development of its LFP and LFMP cathode pilot plant

• The nanotechnology platform is capable of producing 10 tonnes of nanomaterial per year.

• The innovative UK-pilot line produces high purity battery materials capable of meeting the requirements for high-performance applications, including Electric Vehicles.

• The company have recently secured multiple funding from the UK government, including £1.2m from the Faraday Battery Challenge to aid with commercialisation.

Integrals Power Limited (IPL) have completed construction of their first cathode active material (CAM) pilot plant.

Capable of producing ten tonnes of nanomaterial each year, the platform uses equipment common to the industry in an innovative way.

The liquid-based process offers greater control on particle properties, eliminates unnecessary manufacturing steps and provides high purity materials that can meet the requirement of high-performance applications.

The line is also designed with the flexibility to demonstrate a variety of processing concepts and chemistries.

The company, which develops both Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) and Lithium Iron Manganese Phosphate (LFMP), have been constructing the line since June 2023.

Founder and CEO Behnam Hormozi said: “Integral Power’s pilot line can be used for the development of several cathode materials.

“This process also offers flexibility with raw material sources for synthesis, which provides more freedom to the battery supply chain.”

As one of the only LFP and LFMP developers in Europe, IPL has aimed to disrupt the CAM supply chain by offering novel materials with game-changing performance, security of supply and cost.

Academic and industrial partners have tested and verified IPL materials at cell level, confirming the company offers superior performance metrics. The results have shown improved capacity retention and higher performance in extreme environments.

The UK-based company is now developing precursor CAM - Iron Phosphate - which will be used to satisfy lower end applications that are strictly cost driven.

“Our technology will contribute towards net-zero acceleration, mass EV adoption, security of domestic supply chain and attract further investment to the entire battery ecosystem – specifically in the UK,” Mr Hormozi added.

The development and commercialisation of IPL’s nanomaterials and chemistry technology platform is supported by the UK Research and Innovation funding programme, and the company have received multiple grants from various organisations.

After receiving support from Milton Keynes City Council, IPL have now secured additional funding from other sources including Faraday Battery Challenge. This collaborative project will

demonstrate IPL’s LFP and LFMP battery material technology and scale-up the production line for commercialisation.

Mr Hormozi continued: “Consistent development and completion of the pilot plant development is a crucial step towards commercial success and I want to thank our team and collaborators.

“This progress will inevitably de-risk our technology, resulting in added value and increased shareholder value.

“We are currently preparing LFP and LFMP material samples to be delivered to partners for testing. Given further backings, we are on track to pursue next scale-up milestones and reach 10,000 tonne a year capacity.”

Peyk Announces UK Launch of PeykBot: Autonomous Robot Deliveries

• PeykBot will arrive in Milton Keynes this summer, following a successful trial in Qatar.
• Combines innovative technology and AI, with a web-enabled platform for easy use. 
• The first and only robot, specifically designed for peer-to-peer deliveries.  

Peyk has announced the UK launch of their first delivery product: PeykBot.  The robot is designed to provide autonomy in last-mile deliveries, and is a major milestone for Peyk in their mission to bring innovation to the delivery sector.  

Salman Moghimi, Founder and CEO of Peyk, says, “peer-to-peer couriers are widely used when sending things to friends and family.  Peyk is now bringing a similar service to the market, revolutionising it with platform simplicity and smart, city-sustainable autonomous robots.”

With an in-house team of engineers and developers, Peyk have given themselves the competitive edge in the market.  Using a combination of artificial intelligence and high-tech sensors, PeykBot is able to detect authorised driving routes, including side roads and pavements.  The use of waypoint driving means PeykBot is ready for use in any location, not just pre-mapped areas, and is equipped with step climbing ability and obstacle detection.

The all-terrain chassis and latest technology of honeycomb wheels provides smooth and quiet deliveries in any weather.  Each PeykBot is also equipped with industry graded night lighting, as well as indicators, ensuring safe and secure deliveries 24/7.  

Other innovative features include the automatic opening/closing door, and insulated, interchangeable compartment sizes.  

PeykBot also offers the opportunity for businesses to build brand awareness through marketing partnerships.  Each unit is fully customisable, so can feature any business’s colour and branding.   

As well as the robots, Peyk have developed a web-enabled platform that allows any PeykBot operator to identify and track the status of their robot during a delivery.  In case of an emergency, the operator also has the ability to remotely control each unit.  

PeykBot was initially trialled in Msheireb, Qatar, who are now using the robots successfully.  Further trials are currently underway in Dubai and Kuwait, with positive responses thus far. 

With the expanding Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) within Greater London, Peyk is committed to helping reduce carbon emissions in the capital.  Currently, 80% of Peyk’s delivery force are on bicycles, and the new PeykBot was designed to deliver parcels without producing a single Co2 emission.

Peyk was founded by Salman Moghimi in 2018, following his own difficult experience trying to send a package across London.  Today, Peyk has almost 7,000 deliverers ready to collect packages within 20 minutes of an order being placed – the quickest pick-up time across companies in London.  

After fundraising £1.2m in 2021, the company were able to focus their efforts on bringing new technology to the logistics market. 

Salman says, “it is truly remarkable to see that an idea that I had post-covid has quickly turned into a reality.  With the help of my amazing team and the commitment of all of us, we have quickly made the robot project operational.”

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Superfood Ingredients Boost Gut Health

Have you heard of Raise Snacks?  Little clusters of superfood goodness, ready to eat in a snack-size portion. 

Founded by Chester Robinson, Raise Snacks are inspired by his mum's all-natural and nutritious granola, nuts and seeds.  They're full of protein, fibre and antioxidants, helping your mind and body to stay in tip-top working condition.  

I delved deeper into Raise and the world of gut health, to see how each super ingredient is helping us.  You can check out the full article here. 

Vegetable Scrap Recipes

What do you do with your vegetable scraps?  The odd ends of our fruit and vegetables can typically end up in landfill. 

In 2018, the charity Waste and Resources Actions Programme (WRAP) published a report stating that 9.3 million tonnes of food are wasted each year in the UK alone.  A whopping 70% of this total was deemed “edible parts”, with 6.6 million tonnes coming from households.  

Many foods that we deem “inedible” are in fact edible.  Everything from corn cobs to fruit skins can be used - if you know how to cook them. 

Bradley Nairne, an Executive Chef at Well Dunn Catering, sat down to discuss what scraps we could be eating, instead of throwing away.

“[In our kitchen] we use any vegetable scraps to make stock” said Bradley.  “You can use the ends of onions, carrot peels and bits you cut off to make a broth, which you can then use to make soup or pasta sauce.

“If you take peas out of their shells, you can use the shells to make stock for pea soup or pea risotto.”

Bradley continued, “whenever I make sweetcorn soup, I always take off the kernels and throw the cobs into the stock.  This gets the flavour out of the cobs, and I can use the stock to enhance my soup.”

With over 30 years of experience in the culinary industry, Bradley and his team are dedicated to ensuring food waste is kept to a minimum in the production of their dishes.  “Similar to a tamale, you can take the corn husk and put cornmeal inside before steaming.  Using the corn leaves as a wrapper ensures you use every part of the vegetable, instead of throwing it away and using cling film.”

Bradley continued, “a lot of fruit skins contain pectin which help thicken up jams.  Many people peel mangoes but in some Asian cultures, they cook the whole thing.  The pectin in the skin helps thicken the jam.  If you blend it and strain it, you wouldn’t even know the skin is in there.”

Modern recipes give a lot of encouragement to use entire fruits and vegetables when cooking and preparing food.  This is demonstrated in the kitchens at Well Dunn Catering.  “The greens from most vegetables can be eaten: radishes, broccoli, carrots.  I use the entire broccoli.  I peel and cut the stems into sticks, and then use them for crudité to dip into hummus and sauces” said Chef.  

Hoping to help others prevent food waste in their kitchens, Bradley shared three easy recipes that everybody can make at home.  

Carrot Top Pesto

“For pesto and salads, you can substitute your regular herbs for carrot tops.”

Ingredients:

150g carrot tops, tough stems removed, washed & dried 

50g pine nuts, lightly toasted & cooled

2 garlic cloves, peeled

120ml extra virgin olive oil

75g parmesan cheese

A pinch of sea salt, to taste

A pinch of freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method:

Blend the carrot tops, pine nuts & garlic in a food processor.  Slowly drizzle in the olive oil until slightly chunky.  Add the parmesan, salt and pepper.  Taste and add more seasoning if needed.

Apple Scrap Vinegar

Ingredients:

500ml tepid spring water

30ml sugar or honey 

Apple scraps: peels, pips & cores

10ml cider vinegar with Mother 

Method:

Add your apple scraps to a sterilised glass jar.  Pour over the water, ensuring the apple scraps are completely submerged.  Stir in your sugar or honey, and cider vinegar.  Cover the jar with a muslin and secure with a rubber band.  Let the mixture stand in a draft-free, cool place for 6-8 weeks, stirring every 1-2 days.  After 6-8 weeks, strain and bottle your vinegar.  

Bradley said, “craft cocktails are really cool right now.  A lot of chefs are using fruit vinegars to make craft cocktails.  They take pieces of strawberries or apple peels, and make different fruit vinegars.  You can make them at home and use them in drinks or as salad dressings.”

Potato Skin Crisps

Ingredients:

Potato Peels

Olive Oil

Salt

Method:

Wash your potato skins, pat dry and lay them on a baking tray.  Drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkling of salt, then roast in an oven at 180 C until crispy, around 20 minutes. 

The UN’s Sustainable Development Goal ‘Target 12.3’ is committed to halving global food waste by 2030.  If you’d like to find out more about how you can contribute, head to wrap.org.uk/taking-action/food-drink/actions.

Well, that’s a wrap on 2022!

January saw me try my hand at a new cuisine: Caribbean!  I made my first-ever Curried Goat, served with traditional rice and peas, and macaroni pie.  I was rather impressed with the results and it got a big thumbs up from my partner, Jordan.  The curry and rice was my own interpretation, inspired by multiple online recipes.  For the Mac, I used a fantastic recipe by Alex In The Kitchen which can be found here.

Later in January, I succumbed to the dreaded Covid-19 which wiped me out for a solid nine days.  Despite having both vaccinations beforehand, the whole experience was horrendous. 

 
In February, I explored my love for design and began @ShannonIonaDesigns - handmade, bespoke greeting cards for all occasions, using up-cycled materials.  I have always made cards for special occasions but have never sold them before, so I was so grateful to see others invest in my designs.  

In March, I was trusted to make two birthday cakes for extended family, despite not being a professional cake baker.  The first was for an Aunt’s birthday and had to be red and yellow.  The second was for a little boy’s first birthday and needed to include Elmo and the Cookie Monster.  With exception to these requirements, I had free rein to design both cakes and had lots of fun (plus a little stress) coming up with the cakes below.

I’ve been so lucky to spend lots of quality time with my niece this year.  Living in Switzerland means FaceTime is a MUST for us, but 2022 brought lots of family trips which I’ve been so grateful for!  The first holiday together came in April, when my brother, sister-in-law and niece visited the UK.  We had lots of days out around Suffolk, including fun at Felixstowe Pier, walks along the harbour at Pin Mill and visiting local farm parks.  The best experience was definitely meeting the Lemurs at Jimmy’s Farm - just look at these cute little guys!

Not two weeks later, Jordan and I flew to Switzerland to spend time with them in Geneva.  First stop: Fondue at Bains des Pâquis!  If you’re visiting Geneva, you cannot miss the chance to try this signature fondue, melted with champagne in the cheese - sooooo good!  To burn off all those cheese calories, we spent the following days building up our step counts.  We completed the aerial courses at Parc Aventure, Signal de Bougy; toured around Old Town Geneva; and hiked through Monnetier-Mornex at the Swiss-French border.  

May brought a lot of changes for me professionally - I resigned from my company, S.W.A.T., and enrolled at the British College of Journalism, where I’m now completing my Diploma in Professional Freelance Journalism.  It has been six years since my original plans to study the course fell through, so I thought it was about time I pursue my passion for writing.  

To celebrate my Mum’s birthday in May, we had a very indulgent weekend at The Pier Hotel in Harwich.  We started the weekend with a fabulous two course lunch at the hotel, following by a boozy pub crawl in the afternoon.  We dined at The Pier again in the evening, and had the most amazing three course dinner (and far too much champagne!).  Of course, we had to complete the dining experience with brunch the following morning.  I loved the homemade smoothies that were served in ice-cold milk bottles.  

As summer rolled around, I began to work on my new garden.  After a year without a garden at my previous flat, I am beyond happy to have one again!  I dug out a long vegetable patch and planted seeds to my hearts content - radishes, chillies, peppers, cucumbers, courgettes, strawberries, runner beans, broccoli, green beans, sugar snap peas, tomatoes, carrots and parsnips.  Phew, that’s a lot of veg.  Unfortunately, some seeds didn’t take (any advice on growing parsnips is very welcome, as I’m consistently unsuccessful) but I was overrun with tomatoes and chillies.

In the height of summer, I experienced Pride London for the very first time.  A family trip into the heart of London turned into an incredible day of colour, music and LOVE!  The atmosphere and overwhelming sense of community was astonishing.

In July, I channeled my inner 80s chic at Heritage Live - a day of music from Boy George and Culture Club.  Being born in 1995, I thought I’d only know a couple of songs but was surprised at how many I could sing along to.  

Our second holiday in August took us to France with (almost) the whole clan.  We hired a country house in the small village of Cuisery - known as the Village of Books - where we could relax, swim and most importantly, eat!  We spent one afternoon on pedalos, racing each other down La Seille river, and another day exploring the local town of Tournus.  We also visited a traditional French market in Louhans and dined at Restaurant Ferme Auberge du Colombier in Vernoux, known for their famous Poulet de Bresse.  And of course, no French trip would be complete without a wine-tasting.  

September was our month of quiet between two holidays but we did manage to squeeze in a 5k Obstacle Run.  It was great fun but I was absolutely knackered by the end of it!  

At the end of September, myself and Jordan were supposed to be off to Palma de Mallorca but air traffic disruption meant our planned holiday was cancelled.  After hours of last-minute searching, we booked ourselves onto a new holiday to Chiclana de la Frontera in Southern Spain.  The silver lining was an all-inclusive resort (I have NEVER eaten so much food) and much hotter weather, so it all worked out well. 

During our holiday, we took a day trip to Gibraltar and got up-close-and-personal with the Barbary macaques.  In the Bay of Gibraltar, I got to witness one of the most incredible sights - pods upon pods of Common Dolphins.  They all swam alongside the boat, riding the surf and showing us their bellies.  One cheeky chap even gave us a little dance while jumping out of the water.  

I’m sad to say that while away, my wonderful Grandfather passed away.  Im comforted to know he was surrounded by many of our family and we gave him a wonderful send-off later in the month. 

After months of card-making, I attended Sproughton Christmas Fayre in November where I held a card stall.  It’s safe to say I spent all the money I made at other stalls, buying handmade Christmas items as presents for my nearest and dearest.  

After a tour of Stamford Bridge earlier in the year, Jordan took me to my first football match to see Chelsea FC Women’s vs Tottenham Hotspur Women’s.  I’m happy to report that all my cheering and Mexican waves lead us to victory, as we won 3-0!  In December, we attended a second women’s match against PSG, with another 3-0 win. 

Mum and her work team entered us all into a Santa Fun Run in Colchester, where we raised over £1,500 for the Children’s Department at Ipswich and Colchester Hospitals.  

This year I’ve seen a crazy amount of stage shows - Chicago, Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, Cinderella, The Mousetrap, and SIX - all of which were incredible.  

I’ve been so lucky to work with some amazing brands and can’t wait to produce more food collabs in the New Year.  

To end the year, I took two weeks off work to spend some well-needed, quality time with friends and family.  I’ve eaten far too much cheese and chocolate, drunk one too many snowballs and ticked nothing off my To Do list!  All in all, a fantastic time has been had.  

So, after an eventful year, what are my desires for 2023?  

1. Land a new job in Journalism.  I’d love to launch my freelance career once I wrap up my course which is due to finish in May. 

2. Expand my cooking repertoire.  I’ve saved so many recipes shared by other creators and I’m determined that this year will see them be born in my own kitchen!

3. Spend more time on DuoLingo.  I currently hold a 619 day streak which I’m ashamed to say has mostly consisted of quick five minute lessons before bed.  I would love to dedicate some serious time to learning Spanish next year. 

I hope the New Year brings you all health and happiness.  May you find the strength and courage to achieve your goals.  Wishing you all a marvellous 2023!