UK-Canada seabed to space programme adds The Structural Battery Company

The Structural Battery Company (The SB Co.) is one of eight British companies selected to join a 12-month Innovate UK programme designed to accelerate dual-use technologies into international defence and civilian markets.

Based at Cranfield, Bedfordshire, UK, The SB Co. will use Innovate UK’s Global Incubator Programme: Seabed to Space Dual-Use Technologies to accelerate the commercialisation of its structural battery technology across aerospace, defence and maritime markets.

Why the seabed to space programme should open access to Canadian and international markets

The programme is being delivered in partnership with COVE, a global innovation hub in Halifax, Nova Scotia and will give The SB Co. access to Canadian customers, commercial partners, investors, testing expertise and operational maritime environments.

Photo: The SB Co.

John Moffat (above), CEO of The SB Co., said: “We’re thrilled to be selected for this Innovate UK programme, which will add precision and speed to the commercialisation of Drone Spine, our core product and help us develop structural power systems for North American defence, aerospace and maritime markets.

“Batteries must no longer be viewed as passive cargo. Our technology makes energy storage part of a craft’s load-bearing structure, allowing platforms to travel further, carry more payload or accommodate additional mission systems.”

Martin Lucy, Senior Manager for Innovate UK, overseeing the incubator programme, said: “The SB Co. was selected because its structural battery technology addresses a challenge common to almost every platform in the programme’s seabed to space scope: the trade-off between power, mass and payload capability.

“In a world where technological advances are more important than ever for economic prosperity and for national security, speeding up the commercialisation of new tech is vital. Working with COVE, we aim to help turn promising dual-use innovators’ potential into deployable products for international markets.”

Which technologies are being prioritised within the programme?

The programme prioritises technologies including autonomous marine vessels, collaborative and autonomous aviation systems, hybrid electric aircraft, counter-UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System) solutions, advanced sensing and ocean monitoring.

These priorities closely align with The SB Co.’s technology, particularly where endurance, payload, internal volume and platform mass constrain operational capability. Rather than carrying batteries as separate non-structural components, The SB Co. integrates energy storage into the load-bearing structure.

Its flagship Drone Spine technology replaces conventional airframe components with structural energy storage, allowing the battery to carry mechanical loads as well as provide power.

By removing duplicated battery housings and structure, designers can recover mass and internal volume for greater payload, longer endurance, additional sensors or increased propulsion capability.

How collaborative efforts have advanced battery tech for heavy-lift aircraft

In February 2025, The SB Co., working with ISS Aerospace and Marshall Aerospace through a project funded by the UK Government’s Defence and Security Accelerator, demonstrated its structural battery technology in a heavy-lift aircraft.

The 400-volt battery formed part of the load-bearing backbone of the 600kg maximum take-off weight aircraft. The tethered flight demonstrated how energy storage can replace conventional structural mass rather than simply adding to it.

The programme forms part of The SB Co.’s growing engagement with the North American defence and maritime technology ecosystem. In August, Moffat attended BlueTIDE in Newport, Rhode Island and this week joins a select UK delegation attending the Manitoba-UK Defence Summit in Winnipeg.

Moffat added: “Our size as a company allows us to move quickly, while programmes like this give us access to the customers, facilities and partners needed to turn innovation into deployable capability. Canada has a world-class ocean technology ecosystem and COVE provides an excellent platform from which to build our North American presence.”