Polaron (UK), an artificial intelligence technology that dramatically accelerates the development of new advanced materials from decades to just one day, has won the £1 million inaugural Manchester Prize. 

The annual multi-million-pound challenge prize from the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, rewards British-led breakthroughs in AI for public good.

Advanced materials underpin every facet of modern life – from metal alloys that support infrastructure to lithium-ion batteries powering electric vehicles. Despite their importance, traditional methods for developing new materials are slow, costly, and inefficient due to complex manufacturing processes. 

Increasing the energy capacity of batteries

Polaron leverages state-of-the-art generative AI and microstructural image data – the microscopic features of a material visible under a microscope – 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.

Polaron has demonstrated a more than 10% improvement in the energy density of batteries, roughly equivalent to adding 20 extra miles of range to a typical electric vehicle. 

Its AI models can explore thousands of material designs in under a day – a task that would take current state-of-the-art physics-based simulations around 50 years. 

Polaron was founded by Dr Isaac Squires, Dr Steve Kench and Dr Sam Cooper, spinning out their research at Imperial College London in November 2023. The growing start-up unites AI, engineering, and materials science, paving the way for material innovations in batteries and beyond.

Rewarding AI innovations for the public good

Polaron is the first-ever winner of the Manchester Prize. Launched in 2023, the first year of the Manchester Prize called upon the innovators, academics, and entrepreneurs in the UK to enter AI solutions that would deliver public good, our open call for submissions received nearly 300 entries.

In May 2024, 10 finalist teams were selected and awarded £100,000 each to develop their solutions, £90,000 in compute credits and a comprehensive support package to help accelerate ideas and business models, including investor readiness support, marketing and PR advice, business modelling support and access to a network of experts. The finalist teams included ideas and solutions such as the use of AI to boost renewable power generation by finding efficiencies, AI for water and wastewater management, and AI to improve and streamline infrastructure maintenance.