Australian start-up completes takeover of Britishvolt
An Australian start-up firm has finalised its deal to take over collapsed battery manufacturer Britishvolt.
Recharge Industries which is owned by investment firm Scale Facilitation, has purchased the majority of the business and assets for an undisclosed amount.
Recharge is already looking to create a a large-scale lithium-ion battery cell production and research capability in Geelong, Australia.
Its purchase of Britishvolt may reinvigorate former plans to build a £3.8bn gigafactory in Blyth in the north-east, as well as a £200m battery scale up facility with Prologis in the West Midlands.
Administrators at EY told TheBusinessDesk.com that remaining Britishvolt employees have transferred to Recharge as part of the transaction.
The new owners told the BBC that it will start by looking at batteries for energy storage and aims to launch these products by the end of 2025.
Scale Facilitation’s Australian chief executive David Collard said after spending time with Northumberland County Council, he believes that the council, “genuinely want a gigafactory and the best thing for their people.
“The Government is ready to stand behind the right company with the right investment because we do believe that a gigafactory here in Blyth would be an appropriate way of building on the skills that local people have, and indeed the edge that this town has already displayed when it comes to renewables and the future of energy.”
The Government had made a £100m commitment to bring forward a £1.7bn sale and leaseback of the Britishvolt property in Blyth in January 2021 if it reached certain construction milestones. However, it had withdrawn this offer since it found it would be used for day-to-day operational costs.
On the subject of Government funding Collard said to the BBC: “Anyone will take free money but at the end of the day what we want is bi-partisan support and we have that in Australia and the US.”
He added that he hoped the project would create up to 8,000 jobs on site and in the supply chain, with work on the “shovel ready” site that could begin in six to 12 months.
