Electric vehicle battery factory plan ‘switched back on’ with news of Britishvolt takeover
THE prospects of a £3.8billion gigafactory being built in the North East – potentially giving the region’s electric-vehicle industry a major boost – appear to have risen again, with a buy-out of collapsed Britishvolt.
The new owner is Australian company Recharge Industries, which today also announced a crucial supply deal for raw material for its planned new North East operation.
Recharge, whose parent-company is New York-based investment firm Scale Facilitation, is already working on building a gigafactory in the Australian state of Victoria.
It was announced yesterday that Recharge had been chosen as the preferred bidder for Britishvolt, and will now revive its original plans to build a 30GWh battery-making factory on a site just outside Blyth, in south Northumberland.
That would see the North East become home to more than half the predicted automotive gigafactory requirement for the UK by 2030, adding to the 38GWh at the China-backed Envision plant in Sunderland.
David Collard, founder of Recharge Industries and chief executive of Scale Facilitation, said the Australian business was “thrilled” and “can’t wait to get started making a reality of our plans to build the UK’s first gigafactory”.
He added: “After a competitive and rigorous process, we’re confident our proposal will deliver a strong outcome for all involved.”
The news comes as Recharge Industries also announced today that it has signed an in-principle agreement with Teesside-based company Tees Valley Lithium (TVL) to supply lithium hydroxide to its planned Northumberland operation.
Lithium hydroxide is crucial to electric battery manufacture, and TVL describes itself as “Europe’s first independent lithium chemical processing hub, importing high-value feedstock from around the world and supplying battery-grade lithium hydroxide to Europe”.
“This [agreement] links two like-minded companies to enable the critical mineral supply chain needed to build significant battery manufacturing capability in Australia, the US and the UK, and underscores our intent to revive the fortunes of Britishvolt,” said Mr Collard.
“We look forward to integrating lithium hydroxide from TVL into our established and high-performing supply chain.”
TVL director Sam Quinn said: “We are delighted to announce our new partnership with Recharge Industries, a company which shares our philosophy and vision of powering the transition to a low-carbon and low-emissions future through the development of onshore UK facilities in the EV and battery cell supply chain.”
It remains to be seen whether Recharge will succeed where Britishvolt failed – but its timing seems good, as a new gigafactory could help to settle unease around the future of Nissan in the region.
