Structural Battery Company joins UK-Canada incubator

The Structural Battery Company has been selected for a UK-Canada incubator programme for dual-use technologies. The 12-month scheme includes eight British companies.

The Cranfield-based start-up will join Innovate UK's Global Incubator Programme: Seabed to Space Dual-use Technologies, run with COVE, an innovation hub in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The programme is intended to help the company expand commercial work for its structural battery technology in aerospace, defence and maritime markets.

The selection puts the business in a group focused on technologies with both civilian and defence applications. Innovate UK says participating companies will gain access to Canadian customers, commercial partners, investors, testing expertise and maritime operating environments.

The Structural Battery Company develops batteries that form part of a vehicle or craft's load-bearing structure, rather than being carried as separate components. Its main product, Drone Spine, is designed to replace conventional airframe parts with structural energy storage.

The approach aims to reduce duplication created when batteries sit in their own housings within a separate frame. By combining structure and energy storage, designers can free up mass and internal space for payload, sensors, propulsion or longer range, according to the company.

John Moffat, chief executive officer of The Structural Battery Company, said the programme would help accelerate market development in North America.

"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," Moffat said.

Technology focus

According to Innovate UK, the incubator is centred on areas including autonomous marine vessels, collaborative and autonomous aviation systems, hybrid electric aircraft, counter-uncrewed aircraft systems, advanced sensing and ocean monitoring. These sectors are linked by recurring trade-offs between power, weight and usable payload.

Martin Lucy, senior manager at Innovate UK, said The Structural Battery Company was chosen because its technology fits that problem set.

"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," Lucy said.

The business has already tested the concept in a heavier aircraft platform. In February 2025, it worked with ISS Aerospace and Marshall Aerospace on a project funded by the UK government's Defence and Security Accelerator.

During that project, the company demonstrated a 400-volt structural battery in a heavy-lift aircraft with a 600kg maximum take-off weight. In a tethered flight, the battery formed part of the aircraft's load-bearing backbone in a test intended to show that energy storage could replace structural mass rather than add to it.

North America push

The incubator programme is also part of a broader effort to build links in North America, particularly in defence and maritime technology. Canada is a key target because of its ocean technology sector and because the programme is tied to operational maritime settings through COVE.

Structural battery technology has drawn interest in sectors where endurance, available volume and payload weight are tightly constrained. Potential uses cited by the company include defence and emergency logistics, wildfire response, agriculture, satellite power systems and maritime operations.

For aircraft and drones, the commercial case rests on the possibility of using fewer separate battery enclosures and less redundant structural material. In maritime and other systems, the same logic could let designers use space and weight for mission equipment rather than stand-alone power packs.

Moffat said access to partners and facilities was as important as speed for a smaller business seeking overseas growth.

"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," Moffat said.