UK battery company Britishvolt has received £100 million in government backing for its planned gigafactory in North East England.
Britishvolt also announced backing from investors Tritax and Abrdn, that should unlock a further £1.7bn in private funding in a project with a £4bn budget.
Once complete, the factory will produce batteries for over 300,000 electric vehicles each year, significantly “supporting the UK automotive industry’s transition to a zero emissions future” while creating 3,000 direct skilled jobs and another 5,000 indirect jobs in the wider supply chain.
Kwasi Kwarteng Business Secretary said, “Britishvolt’s planned gigafactory will not only enable the UK to fully capture the benefits of a booming electric vehicle market, but will bring thousands of highly-skilled, well-paid jobs to the North East.
“In this global race between countries to secure vital battery production, this government is proud to make the investment necessary to ensure the UK retains its place as one of the best locations in the world for auto manufacturing.”
Britishvolt also confirmed it has entered into a two-year, multi-million pound agreement with the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC), to develop, assemble and manufacture its next generation sample cells for mass production and commercialisation.
Coventry-based UKBIC is a national battery manufacturing development facility providing battery manufacturing scale-up.
Graham Hoare, President of Global Operations, Britishvolt, says, “UKBIC is an essential ingredient in Britishvolt’s accelerated roadmap to market, providing a platform and environment that delivers high quality development cells in a time period that would be almost impossible in other territories. We are extremely pleased with the service offered by UKBIC and the promising results we’re seeing. By working with our customers early we can offer flexibility and specific attributes linked to their application requirements. This is a vital USP and signals that the age of “off the peg” battery production is no longer suitable for all.”
