Startup Case Study: NanoHIVE Composites

If the switch from fossil fuels to electric power is to gather more pace, batteries must become lighter, so cars travel more efficiently between charges. Many motorists concerned by range may not realise that batteries can account for 25% or more of an electric car’s weight. Hence, adding more cells is not always the answer because it simply adds more weight.

But what if batteries were sturdy enough to be a part of the vehicle itself? What if instead of being an extra weight to deal with, the car’s doors or roof, say, were made up of batteries? That is the question NanoHIVE Composites is seeking to answer.

The trio behind the startup are a testament to the extra-curricular entrepreneurial options available to students and staff at the University of Oxford. Each started out their journey into business in 2023 by filling out a form to join OX1, a student-led innovation networking club and incubator. Shatha AlMarri was studying for a PhD in materials science and Hanifah Nanda was starting out on an MBA course at Saïd Business School. Undergraduate Adithya Kunigiri was studying Economics and Management at Christ Church and realised if he were to form a company, he would need to partner with a co-founder with scientific and technology expertise. That is how a simple form proved so effective.

“Both Hanifah and I wrote down we were looking to be matched with someone more technical, science-based ideas and Shatha, who  had those skills, noted down she was looking for people with more of a business background,” recalls Adithya.

“The OX1 programme was very smart because it helped us realise we were a match for one another. Hanifah had been working in environmental law before she joined the MBA programme and I was studying a business subject, while Shatha was researching future uses for materials. Between the three of us we had the business, environmental and science experience needed to start working on a startup.”

Based on Shatha’s research into new materials, and weekly meetings at OX1, the idea for NanoHIVE Composites was starting to form in the founders’ minds. The principle remains the same a year or so after they met, although the composition of the battery packs has yet to be decided. It is being guided by Shatha’s ongoing studies into composite materials that could build batteries that are strong enough to form a part of a vehicle’s frame. 

“The idea is that batteries are separate from the rest of the car and they’re so heavy, it’s a really inefficient way to power a vehicle,” says Adithya.

“The problem with current battery technology is that if you had them as the frame of a car and you applied any force, they’d deform. So, we’re creating solid state structural batteries that use composite materials that can withstand an impact. We’re still researching how they’ll be made but we are working on using polymers containing graphene, because they’ll be strong and the graphene, even though there will only be a tiny amount, can conduct electricity.”

Working on the details at OVB

Although the idea started to take shape at OX1, it was not until the trio joined the Oxford Venture Builder (OVB) in the Spring of 2024 that it started to take proper shape. The three-month course is run by Oxford Saïd Entrepreneurship Centre in partnership with EnSpire Oxford. For Adithya and his co-founders, it was a ‘game changer’.

“It was at Oxford Venture Builder we went from an idea we could work on together to something we really thought we could make into a proper startup,” Adithya recalls.

“The structure is very good because someone comes in each week and teaches a different part of entrepreneurship; from choosing your value proposition to market research and we’d then all need to apply that to our startup idea. What was also hugely beneficial to us was being assigned an angel investor as a mentor. She was incredibly knowledgeable and well connected. She’d give us advice and set tasks, such as speaking to a particular potential customer, and then we’d need to report back on progress next time we met. It’s a great approach; it kept us honest and focussed on moving forwards.”

Meeting the public

The OVB programme helped the fledgling startup turn an idea into a business plan and like many startups that have gone through the process, the next stage was to pitch the idea to people they have never met before. It is this stepping into the unknown and presenting a challenge and potential solution that made participating in 2024’s #StartedinOxford Showcase so exciting for the team. The evening is based on startups having a booth people can approach to talk about their business. Each guest is given £1,000 in pretend money they can assign to the idea that convinces them the most on the night. Adithya reveals the evening was essential in helping him, and his colleagues, refine their pitch, especially around the technology.

“With our startup it's easier to explain the idea than the technology, so it was really useful to practice telling people who came to our stall what we are doing, as well as how. We had all kinds of people approach us, including quite a few kids, so it was really good to help us distil our ideas so that everyone can understand and get the value proposition. It was a good learning experience.”

For the team, the OVB and #StartedinOxford combination was invaluable in building their pitch, taking it to the public and then refining it. The next steps are heavily dependent on the results of Shatha’s ongoing research into the composite materials. Her PhD at Oxford is complete and she is now undertaking further research in the United Arab Emirates.

Adithya estimates a prototype structural battery is at least two years or more away and will most likely be tested out in the drone market first because weight gains in the aviation market are highly sought-after. If the technology proves successful, the car market will be the next obvious industry to target and could one day see cars that are not only powered by batteries, but actually built from them.