Battery technology pioneer, Britishvolt, has responded to recent media speculation on the viability of the company. Given the recent speculation concerning the future of Britishvolt, whose mission is to accelerate the electrification of society and deliver sustainable, low-carbon batteries on the roadmap to decarbonisation, want to make its situation clear for all its stakeholders.
The company has previously spoken about the need to evolve its business strategy in response to challenging external factors. It will continue to explore both short- and long-term funding streams that will enable them to deliver on its plans to build a thriving localised, sustainable battery ecosystem based on next-generation cell technology.
Britishvolt said: “While the weakening economic situation is negatively impacting much business investment at present, at Britishvolt we are continuing to pursue positive ongoing discussions with potential investors.
“In addition, we have also received promising approaches from several more international investors in the past few days.”
The result is they have now secured the necessary near-term investment that will enable Britishvolt to bridge over the coming weeks to a more secure funding position for the future.
To further reduce its near-term costs, its dedicated employee team have also voluntarily agreed to a temporary salary reduction for the month of November.
Britishvolt added: “We want to thank our employees, suppliers & investors, for their continuing belief in Britishvolt. It is important that Britishvolt is a success not only for the close to 300 employees currently working for the company but also for the many thousands of jobs we intend to create in the UK as we progress our plans.
“The “Britishvolt Effect” is also of huge strategic importance to UK plc. and the country’s standing on the global battery stage.”
This is good news for Britishvolt which received a UK Government funding boost back in August for its Northumberland electric vehicle (EV) battery cell gigaplant. The total investment for Britishvolt’s Blyth gigaplant in Northumberland is around £3.8 billion.
This shows the UK Government sees the future of the UK auto industry as electric. It’s important that the plant goes ahead as planned to help support the rise in electric vehicle sales and for the local economy.
At full production, enough battery cells will be produced for more than 300,000 lithium-ion batteries a year. The facility is expected to employ over 3,000 people directly in skilled jobs, with another 5,000 in the wider supply chains.
Back in August, Britishvolt announced it was partnering with BTR as its synthetic graphite anode supplier for the manufacture of its electric vehicle batteries. The anode material will be produced using renewable energy and is aligned with the company’s desire to select the best materials and develop partnerships with world-class suppliers.
