Britishvolt secures £1.7bn for Blyth battery gigafactory
UK Battery startup Britishvolt has managed to raise £1.7 billion (€2.03 billion) in funds from investors to build its battery gigafactory in the North East of England, which stands to be the first of its kind in the country.
Aside from £100 million delivered to the firm through the UK government's Automotive Transformation Fund, much of the remaining cash was gathered through investors Tritax and Abrdn.
Read more: Glencore invests in Britishvolt for first UK gigafactory
Originally scheduled for construction in Cambois, Northumberland, when the gigafactory was announced two years ago, the location has since been confirmed to be Blyth, also in Northumberland. Current plans estimate the factory could commence operations in 2024.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng described the investment as a "major boost for Britain" and a "resounding vote of confidence in the North East economy".
"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", he added.
The UK government was originally going to invest £200 million into the site, but funding was set back to allow for investment into other projects.
With the world in the grips of a semiconductor shortage that may not dissipate until 2023, increasing domestic production on EV batteries is becoming a matter of practicality for leading economies to allow production to resume at pre-pandemic levels and to reduce reliance on eastern suppliers with global supply chains still suffering from the coronavirus pandemic.
The UK also vowed to ban fully petrol and diesel cars by 2030 and is thus on a tight deadline to make EVs affordable.
Britishvolt's chair Peter Rolton has said he sees this as the beginning of a battery ecosystem for the UK.
He also told the BBC's Today programme that he would like "all of the new jobs at the plant to go to people living in the area", with the company planning to set up a training site in Ashington.
“This announcement is a major step in putting the UK at the forefront of the global energy transition, unlocking huge private sector investment that will develop the technology and skills required for Britain to play its part in the next industrial revolution", he said in a statement.
Rolton claims as many as 5,000 new jobs could be created through the battery supply chain.
"Britishvolt’s plan to build a new gigafactory in Northumberland is a strong testament to the skilled workers of the North East and the UK’s place at the helm of the global green industrial revolution", UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued in a statement.
Read more: Looking beyond the semiconductor shortage
"Backed by government and private sector investment, this new battery factory will boost the production of electric vehicles in the UK, whilst levelling up opportunity and bringing thousands of new highly-skilled jobs to communities in our industrial heartlands."
The North East of England is set to become something of a hub for the automotive sector. Automaker Nissan's plans to turn its Sunderland plant into a hub for electric vehicle production - including domestic battery production - was given the green light back in September.
The firm was hit hard by the pandemic and vowed to focus on domestic production in the UK, including sourcing and producing its own parts.
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