Britishvolt Secures Major Investment, To Pursue UK Gigafactory Dream

The cover image of this article is from ucsusa.org.

The battery startup Britishvolt is currently in negotiations to sell a majority of their shares to a consortium of investors. This potential investment is meant to allow the company to continue pursuing their objective of constructing a Gigafactory located in the UK. The source that is familiar with the negotiations claimed that the investors involved were not currently shareholders of the company. Additionally, Britishvolt has sent out a letter to their existing shareholders, requesting their approval to allow a new investor to enter the company, replacing them.

Large-scale battery production has been highlighted as a fundamental part of attaining the future of the UK car industry, which is transitioning from combustible engines to electric. Currently, the main contenders for constructing a suitable gigafacory are Britishvolt and the Chinese-owned Envision Group.

Britishvolt plans to construct a 30GWh facility that rivals Envision's, which will be situated in Sunderland. However, due to a cash shortage, their building efforts have been temporarily suspended.

Britishvolt released a statement in regards to the negotiations, stating that they were "aiming to secure legally binding terms that provide the company with long-term sustainability and the funding needed to pursue their plans of establishing a successful Research and Development (R&D) and manufacturing business in the UK."

The staff of the company has had to make some tough decisions in order to keep the company afloat. At first, the employees had to make a 50% cut in their salaries. Fortunately, they were soon reinstated with their full pay. In October, Britishvolt was in danger of folding, but a last-minute injection of £5 million from Glencore, a FTSE 100 mining company and previous investor, successfully prevented this. In addition to supplying cobalt for the potential factory, Glencore also holds a joint venture with Britishvolt for battery recycling.

Gigafactories have the potential to revolutionize the way we create and use energy. This is why it is so important for Britishvolt to secure the funding and long-term sustainability required to continue following through with their plans.

If the negotiations prove successful and the company is able to construct their factory, this could be an immensely influential step in the right direction for the UK's electric car industry.