1414 Degrees (ASX:14D) began the scale-up phase of its SiNTL silicon nanoparticle anode program and initiated full-stack battery development with contract manufacturers, acquiring scale-up equipment to produce manufacturer-relevant quantities of its silicon anode material at research partner George Washington University in Washington DC, according to a Friday Australian bourse filing.

The company said the scale-up enables it to progress industry discussions into formal third-party evaluations and original equipment manufacturer qualification processes, with several drone and related industry participants engaged and inbound interest received from companies seeking to trial SiNTL materials.

The company said silicon offers a theoretical capacity of about 3,600 milliampere-hours per gram compared to about 372 milliampere-hours per gram for graphite anodes, with SiNTL aimed at addressing battery capacity as a key constraint across many unmanned aerial vehicle systems, the filing added.

The company's shares surged 16% to their highest since November 2021 in recent Friday trade.