Ionetic’s CEO and Co-Founder : James Eaton talks us through his career path to date, and shares his vision of an EV future
What is your career path to now?
My background is in engineering – something that has always been my passion. I completed a master’s in mechanical engineering at Imperial College London, specialising in battery pack design. That led to a role at Imperial, helping OEMs develop their EV battery packs. During that time, I worked with different OEMs and saw a recurring problem: electrification is incredibly challenging for smaller OEMs. Custom battery packs were too expensive and off-the-shelf solutions compromised performance.
That was the inspiration for Ionetic – I wanted to make custom battery packs 10-times cheaper to develop. Our software-driven approach to battery pack development eliminates the trade-off between cost and performance, making high-quality, custom packs viable for niche OEMs. Since then, we’ve grown rapidly, secured customers, built an exceptional team, and shown a smarter way forward for EV battery pack development.
Talk us through your role – what does a typical day look like for you?
My role has evolved enormously over the last 3 years. At the start, I was coding the first versions of our software, doing CAD, in the lab running tests – actually using my engineering degree. However, today I’m focused on ‘business development’ in all its forms – speaking to our customers, developing new sales leads, short- and long-term strategy, investor relations, and exploring partnerships such as our partnership with Rockwell Automation.
I don’t think any day is typical or the same. Sometimes I’m travelling, sometimes I’m in meetings, or sometimes I’m in PowerPoint.
What big projects are you working on at the moment?
A huge focus for us right now is Arc Fab Pilot. Our industrialisation pilot facility, which opened in February, is a big step in unleashing the potential of our Arc technology stack. It’s the first real-world validation of our new approach to battery pack fabrication, using automation while maintaining flexibility through our technology stack.
We’ve also been working closely with Alexander Dennis, a leading bus manufacturer on a next-generation battery pack to improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness of electric buses. This £1.4Mn R&D program is part of the Faraday Battery Challenge, also partnering with Imperial College London.
We’ve also recently announced the installation of our new laser welder. For 18 months, we struggled to find anyone in the UK who could weld live cells, so we ended up having to ship everything, including two of our team to IPG in Germany just to get it done. I’m proud that Ionetic now has its own in-house laser welding capability which we’ll continue to develop over 2025 and beyond.
What are the biggest technology breakthroughs for EVs in recent years?
The biggest breakthroughs aren’t just in battery chemistry but in how fast and cost-effectively we can develop and manufacture custom battery packs. Traditionally, smaller OEMs faced long, expensive development cycles or had to compromise with off-the-shelf packs.
That’s changing with our software-driven battery pack development. AI-supported algorithms cut design time from months to days, optimising energy density, weight, and thermal performance for every unique customer application.
Manufacturing is also evolving. Our Arc Fab system enables flexible battery production, giving low- to mid-volume OEMs access to tailored, high-performance packs at a cost and speed the market hasn’t allowed before.
What challenges does the EV industry face, and how will it overcome them?
Despite UK EV sales growing by 21% in 2024, infuriating headlines still claim EV sales are ‘slowing’ or ‘declining’ or EVs pose an increased fire risk – it’s simply not true. EVs are now at cost parity with petrol cars on a monthly basis and EV fires are far rarer than reported, with 60-80 combustion vehicle fires for every EV fire.
The real challenge for OEMs is time to market and development costs, particularly in Europe and the USA. The industry desperately needs faster, more cost-effective ways to develop high-performance battery packs. Our software-driven approach, called Arc, combines scalable hardware and flexible fabrication, cutting battery pack development costs by up to millions and reducing time to market by up to two-thirds. OEMs can now get a fully tested, production-ready battery pack in months, not years.
What do you think will be the next big step in EV development?
Headlines about new chemistries and technologies suggest major gains in performance. However, for me, the rapidly decreasing cost of batteries means that any new technology is going to struggle to compete in the automotive space – apart from really niche sectors. We need to offer optimised and customised pack designs bespoke for each application.
Internal combustion engines allowed OEMs to create a unique brand feel, but with EVs, battery packs define almost every major vehicle characteristic. This has led to a ‘sea of sameness’ in the market. In my opinion, the next big step isn’t just better batteries, but giving EVs more character.
To achieve this, battery packs need to be developed alongside the vehicle from day one, allowing OEMs to balance weight, size, and power to create something truly distinct. The key to unlocking unique, compelling EVs is in customised, performance-driven battery pack design.
What will be powering a typical vehicle in Europe by 2030?
Battery-electric powertrains will dominate. We have reached cost-parity today and that’s only going to get better over the next five years. If EVs were dominant today and someone came along saying you can have a vehicle powered by a highly flammable, explosive liquid, that pollutes the planet, with a worse driving experience, the answer would be obvious. On top of that, we’re going to have to build 1,000s of places where you’ll have to go to get more of the highly flammable liquid – instead of starting every day with a ‘full tank’.
Is there anything about the EV industry you’d like to change?
EVs aren’t niche anymore, but too many low volume OEMs are being left behind due to extreme development costs. For the last 100 years, engines have been shared between manufacturers without compromising the character of the vehicle. That’s not true for EVs, the battery pack is much more integral. To level the playing field, low-volume OEMs need custom, high-performance battery packs without the price tag or lead time of traditional solutions. That’s exactly what we’re changing at Ionetic.
