The Voltt is a cloud-based platform that promises to cut cell selection time by as much as six months
In battery system design, few decisions carry as much weight or risk as choosing the right cell. The wrong choice can derail a programme’s cost, performance, and schedule before the first prototype leaves the bench. Yet despite the centrality of this decision, cell evaluation remains slow, fragmented, and heavily reliant on lengthy physical testing
Now, About:Energy, a UK-based specialist in battery modelling and characterisation, is changing that with The Voltt – a cloud-based platform that promises to cut cell selection time by as much as six months, transforming one of the most complex bottlenecks in battery engineering into a streamlined, data-driven process.
A NEW PARADIGM FOR CELL EVALUATION
Battery cell selection underpins every major design decision in electrification programmes, from range and charging speed to lifetime and thermal management. But engineering teams are often forced to make those decisions using incomplete or incomparable data, especially in the early design stages when prototype systems are unavailable.
“The Voltt is about transforming the economics of battery programmes for decision-makers,” explains Dr Gavin White, co-founder and CEO of About:Energy. “In aviation, for example, every kilogram of battery weight affects range, safety and cost. By giving leaders the evidence to choose the right cell at the outset, we’re empowering them to make decisions that unlock performance and commercial advantage without costly trial-and-error.”
Built on About:Energy’s validated model library, The Voltt is the first dedicated cell selection platform designed specifically for high-performance battery development. It enables engineers to model, test, and compare multiple cells under realistic duty cycles in a browser, without the need for additional software.
The platform leverages a vast dataset derived from thousands of cells tested at the company’s London-based laboratory, representing the equivalent of centuries of testing data. With access to more than 30 high-performance cells from manufacturers such as Molicel, Amprius, Enpower-Greentech, and InoBat, engineers can simulate performance characteristics across use cases ranging from aerospace and drones to motorsport and high-power consumer systems.
FIRST-TIME RIGHT DESIGN
Traditionally, validating new cells can take months of iterative testing to understand behaviour under different load profiles, temperatures and charging regimes. The Voltt compresses this process into weeks by offering digitally modelled, real-world performance simulations grounded in About:Energy’s proprietary data.
Using The Voltt, engineers can define mission profiles, such as an urban delivery cycle, endurance drone flight, or track racing scenario, and instantly assess how different cells perform in terms of energy density, voltage response, temperature rise, degradation, and cost impact. Crucially, this is not synthetic data. Each model in The Voltt’s library is derived from empirical testing and validated against real cells, ensuring predictive accuracy across various chemistries and form factors.
“Engineers are under huge pressure to make high-stakes choices quickly,” says Lorenzo Bergamaschi, product lead for The Voltt. “Often, they don’t yet have the full system-level data available at early design stages. The Voltt bridges that gap by giving them validated data and clear insight so they can evaluate options confidently and design better systems from the start.”
By enabling “first-time-right” cell decisions, The Voltt helps manufacturers avoid costly redesigns, reduce prototype cycles, and bring new electrified platforms to market faster, all while improving range, lifetime, and total cost of ownership. Early users across aerospace, UAVs, space systems, and motorsport have already reported tangible gains, including up to six months’ reduction in cell selection time and significant confidence improvements in early-stage design decisions.
BUILT ON DEEP BATTERY INTELLIGENCE
At the core of The Voltt is About:Energy’s expanding database of battery behaviour. Over years of research, the company has characterised thousands of cells through extensive testing, capturing dynamic charge and discharge performance, thermal responses, and degradation pathways under diverse load conditions. This data forms the foundation of the company’s trusted digital cell models, used by OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers to feed into simulation environments or to drive real-time battery management optimisation.
The launch of The Voltt represents About:Energy’s strategic shift from providing bespoke data and consultancy to delivering scalable, cloud-based software tools for the broader engineering community.
VALIDATED IN THE FIELD
The Voltt has already demonstrated its value through collaborations with pioneering electrification companies. A recent programme with Quantum Systems’ EFT drone division, for instance, used The Voltt’s simulation capabilities to de-risk early design decisions. Engineers were able to narrow down optimal cell candidates based on weight, thermal performance, and expected lifetime before physical prototypes were built, cutting months from the programme schedule.
In high-performance automotive and motorsport contexts, The Voltt’s real-time comparative tools enable engineers to visualise trade-offs between range, charging time, and degradation across multiple suppliers, supporting more resilient supply chain strategies as well as technical optimisation.
EMPOWERING THE NEXT GENERATION OF BATTERY ENGINEERS
About:Energy has grown by over 50% in the past year, attracting talent from Northvolt, Lilium and other leaders in advanced electrification. Looking ahead, the company plans to expand The Voltt’s coverage to include solid-state and lithium-sulfur chemistries, alongside enhanced API integration for simulation workflows. By providing a unified platform for data, modelling and decision support, The Voltt is aiming to become the industry’s definitive environment for early-stage battery evaluation.
