UK electric car battery maker Britishvolt has collapsed into administration after failed rescue talks
The majority of the 300 workers have been made redundant and it will heavily impact the future of the UK’s energy transition.
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Britishvolt, a UK firm behind a planned gigafactory for electric vehicle batteries, collapsed after falling into financial distress.
The start-up, championed by former prime minister Boris Johnson to help drive a greener economy, had been developing the multi-billion-pound project in Blyth, northeast England.
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However, on Tuesday, it fell into administration.
Financial firm EY said it would oversee the group’s administration, confirming that a formal application for the process had been submitted.
“The company has entered into administration,” EY said in a statement.
The “majority” of its 300 staff have been made redundant “with immediate effect.”
Britishvolt had been in emergency fundraising talks since the end of last year, despite the promise of government financial support to the tune of £100million and in the wake of funding by metals giant Glencore and British luxury car firm Aston Martin.
It had hoped to secure a rescue deal that would have seen a consortium of investors purchases a majority stake.
Britishvolt had planned to produce 300,000 electric vehicle batteries a year at Blyth.
It also aimed to employ a total of 3,000 people on the site, while the project was said to have potentially supported thousands more supply chain jobs.
Speaking on the subject, founder and CEO of Electrifying.com, Ginny Buckley, said: “We need to kickstart a green industrial revolution in order to keep the UK economy competitive, and the news from Britishvolt today is a huge blow to those plans.
“Our car industry is worth £14 billion of added value to the UK economy and if it’s to stay competitive on the global stage as it electrifies, investment into our supply chain is crucial.
“We’ve seen the impact of overreliance on global markets during the past 18 months when a shortage of semiconductors and other components played havoc with the industry and both new and used car prices.
“Gigafactories, which build those vital batteries the industry relies on, are crucial to the future health of the car industry, particularly now MINI is moving production of its electric model to China.
“This leaves Nissan as the only mainstream company manufacturing electric cars here in the UK.”
Jim Holder, editorial director, What Car?, said: “BritishVolt’s facility was set to cost £4bn to build and take years to be completed, yet the truth is we need at least five such facilities by the turn of the decade to remain a competitive country to build electric cars in.
“Today’s news is very bad news for the whole industry – and the only positive will come if it spurs Government into action to secure a partnership between itself, the industry and battery manufacturers that can succeed into the long-term.”
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