The UK’s risk aversion is stifling the commercialisation of proven technology, driving innovative companies toward America, the founder of a pioneering battery firm warned today ahead of chairing a University of Warwick panel on drone technology.
John Moffat, founder and CEO of The Structural Battery Company (SBCo), will chair the prestigious “drone panel” at the Silverstone Technology Cluster (STC) Innovation and Growth Conference on June 16.
He will be joined at the University of Warwick’s Coventry campus by Stu Olden of SDO Associates, Tony White of Ultra Precision Control Systems and Elliot Parnham of Skyfarer.
The four will explore current opportunities and challenges in the low-altitude flight economy and the critical steps needed to unlock its full potential in the UK and beyond.
John, speaking ahead of the event, said: “The UK has many of the ingredients to lead the world in advanced technology, but we need to become better at turning innovation into commercial success.
“The critical issue is risk appetite. The UK is structurally risk averse, especially when companies move from Technology Readiness Level 6 (on the 1 to 9 aerospace project progression scale) into commercialisation. We support research and prototypes well, but struggle to back the stage where a proven technology becomes a certified, scalable product.
“Government policy can be well-intentioned but create unintended outcomes. For example, broadening Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) eligibility risks drawing capital away from the smaller, early-stage businesses the scheme was designed to support.
He added: “There are only two places where start-ups can reliably access growing capital: the USA and China. For companies with sensitive technology, China isn’t viable, which is why British companies look to the USA, where funding depth and commercialisation pathways are stronger.
“Risk appetite challenges are well documented for UK start-ups in the ‘valley of death’ – the treacherous path between scale-up capital and commercial procurement. In the UK we know the solutions to these problems. The question is whether they can be implemented with sufficient urgency and precision.”
Moffat’s UK-based company is currently pioneering structural battery technology that will bring significant advances to UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) and satellite capability.
The SB Co’s tech will enable these vehicles to travel further and carry more by using their structural crossbeams and panels to house battery power sources, freeing up space and weight where a traditional battery once sat.
The SB Co’s “Drone Spine™” product is a revolutionary high-voltage structural battery backbone designed specifically for heavy-lift UAVs.
By integrating energy storage directly into the primary structure, it transforms the battery from dead weight into a load-bearing component.
Key benefits include significant structural mass reduction, increased payload capacity and range, faster time-to-market and support for higher-power propulsion systems.
This innovative solution accelerates development of heavy uncrewed aerial vehicles while enabling safer, more efficient hybrid architectures in the low altitude economy.
- Event: Silverstone Technology Cluster (STC) Innovation and Growth Conference
- Date: June 16
- Venue: University of Warwick, Coventry
- For more information and to register, visit: www.silverstonetechnologycluster.com
- Learn more about The Structural Battery Company at: www.thesb.co.uk
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