1414 Degrees inks Ukrainian defence partnership
1414 Degrees (ASX:14D) has secured its inaugural defence partnership, signing a battery evaluation agreement with Ukrainian government-approved drone manufacturer Energia 2000.
Under the landmark deal, Energia 2000 will evaluate 14D’s proprietary SiNTL silicon anodes across its entire unmanned aerial vehicle production line.
Energia 2000 currently manufactures 72,000 military drones annually for the Ukrainian Armed Forces—the world’s largest military drone user.
The manufacturer plans a scale-up to 360,000 units per year within 24 months through its subsidiary, Spectech Industries.
Ukraine’s rapidly expanding drone market now produces over four million military drones annually, outstripping all other NATO countries combined.
The partnership provides a unique opportunity for live battlefield and real-time war testing within the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict.
The real-world validation will provide crucial performance data to NATO-aligned nations, allied governments, and Tier 1 defence primes.
Testing will span a variety of Ukrainian UAV platforms, including fixed-wing UAVs, heavy multirotor systems, and FPV drones, granting 14D direct access to five active Ukrainian drone battalions.
The SiNTL-based batteries directly address critical drone limitations regarding range and payload capacity.
The silicon anodes have already demonstrated a specific capacity of 530 mAh/g, outperforming graphite’s theoretical maximum of 372 mAh/g. The development programme is targeting 600 mAh/g, a milestone aimed at drastically extending mission duration.
The importance is underscored by recent Ukrainian drone strikes hitting targets in St Petersburg, approximately 1,200km from Kyiv.
