UK battery production blow as Britishvolt enters administration

Battery start-up Britishvolt has entered administration after it failed to secure sufficient funding.

The firm planned to build a £3.8 billion Gigafactory in Blyth, which was expected to create 3,000 direct highly-skilled jobs and another 5,000 indirect jobs in the wider supply chain.

The majority of the firm's 232 staff have been made redundant with immediate effect.

Last year, Britishvolt asked the Government to advance £30m of a promised £100m in support, but was refused as the company had not hit agreed construction milestones to access the funds.

Ben Nelmes, chief executive of green motoring consultancy firm, New AutoMotive, said that the news of Britishvolt's collapse was “deeply disappointing”, and a blow to the UK’s transition to cleaner, cheaper transport. 

“Delays to the government's Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) mandate have created additional uncertainty around rates of EV uptake and future demand for EV batteries,” he added.

“The UK urgently needs a green industrial strategy to prevent the trickle of bad news about the UK car industry turning into a torrent in a few years' time.”

The UK will need to produce batteries with a capacity of 90 gigawatt hours (GWh) a year if it is to retain a car industry of a similar size, according to the Advanced Propulsion Centre. Current UK production capacity is less than 2GWh and Britishvolt was expected to produce 30GWh.

The UK currently only has one Chinese-owned plant next to the Nissan factory in Sunderland, while 35 plants are planned or already under construction in the EU.

Planning permission for a Gigafactory with a production capacity of up to 60GWh has already been secured in the West Midlands and investors for the site are currently being sought.

Councillor Jim O’Boyle cabinet member for jobs, regeneration and climate change at Coventry City Council said, “It is strategically important for a network of Gigafactories to be developed in the UK to deliver domestic energy independence and increased energy efficiency. 

“The West Midlands Gigafactory’s site in Coventry is ready to go – it has planning permission and a funding package to ensure we can deliver. But, if the government does not move to back our site, and others, the country will be left behind the rest of the world when I believe we could, and should, be world leading. 

“It is essential to create the right conditions to attract battery manufacturers to invest and support the large-scale industrialisation for an electrified UK in the future. In addition, it is now imperative to deliver the West Midlands Gigafactory project right here in Coventry to secure this future.”