Entrepreneur UK's London 100: Polaron From lab to EV range—Polaron's AI boosts battery performance and speeds up material discovery

By Patricia Cullen

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur United Kingdom, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Polaron
Polaron founders, Steve Kench, Isaac Squires and Sam Cooper

Industry: Artificial Intelligence

Shoreditch-based start-up Polaron, founded in 2023 by Isaac Squires, Steve Kench and Sam Cooper, has developed a state-of-the-art generative AI model that explores thousands of material designs in under a day - a task that takes current simulations 50 years.

Spinning out their research at Imperial College London, Polaron can improve battery energy density by 10% - equivalent to adding 20 miles of range to an electric vehicle (EV).

The start-up leverages microstructural image data to bridge the gap between the way materials are made and their performance. The technology empowers engineers to characterise materials, quantify microstructural variation, and optimise microstructural designs faster than ever before.

Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Peter Kyle, said of the start-up: "Polaron exemplifies the promise of AI."

The company's vision is to harness the power of AI to accelerate the development of the materials that are critical to a sustainable future.

Patricia Cullen

Features Writer

Business News

AI Could Cause 99% of All Workers to Be Unemployed in the Next Five Years, Says Computer Science Professor

Professor Roman Yampolskiy predicted that artificial general intelligence would be developed and used by 2030, leading to mass automation.

Growing a Business

How I've Mastered the Art of Watching Trends to Predict and Create Viral Products — and How You Can, Too

I've made trend-watching and in-depth analysis my habit. Here are the hacks that will be useful for anyone who wants to create products that appeal to global audiences.

Starting a Business

He Built a $100 Million Brand in Menswear — Now He's Taking On Baby Monitors After a Scary Wake-Up Call

Kevin Lavelle of Harbor proves that success in entrepreneurship comes with solving the problems you face yourself.

Leadership

Your Team Doesn't Trust You — These 5 Leadership Habits Are to Blame

Trust isn't a soft value — it's a measurable driver of performance and retention.

Science & Technology

Generative AI Is Completely Reshaping Education. Here's Why Leaders Can't Afford to Ignore It.

From dorm-room startups to faculty-built chatbots, the future of learning is being rewritten right now — and the institutions that can't keep up are getting left behind.