Help from Down Under could be at hand for UK’s collapsed Britishvolt

BRITISHVOLT, hailed as a prime example of the government’s success in securing UK business investment, went into administration last month.

The electric car battery manufacturer had hoped to build a £3.8 billion (€4.3 billion) factory near Blyth in Northumberland with government funding if it found investors.

This would have met the demand for electric vehicles ready for the UK’s 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars.  Instead Britishvolt collapsed after a rescue bid by several investors fell through, with most of its 300 employees immediately made redundant.

Now help could be at hand following a nonbinding offer from Recharge Industries, an Australian start-up linked to New York-based investment firm Scale Facilitation, which intends to build a battery factory in Geelong, the former car manufacturing centre near Melbourne.

Thanks to Australia’s mineral deposits, the proposed lithium-ion plant would not be dependent on Chinese or Russian materials and risk supply chain holdups.

A Britishvolt deal “made strategic sense” Geelong-born David Collard, Scale Facilitation’s founder and chief executive told the international media.

Referring to the spirit of Aukus – the trilateral security pact between the UK, Australia and the US – Collard said that strengthening connections with “our friends in the UK” was in the general interest “especially when most others are kicking them when they’re down.”

Rob Fitzpatrick, Recharge Industries’ chief executive, explained that should the offer proceed, the operation would also provide the Australian company with greater access to Europe.

“Demand for lithium-ion battery storage continues to go through the roof,” he added.

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