Mr.BaZzAr Posted June 2, 2021 Posted June 2, 2021 They say your first big step is the one that defines any journey. If that’s the case, then Britishvolt has just made a bold and confident leap into the future by announcing the site of its new and pioneering battery gigaplant in Northumberland. The building of electric battery gigaplants is a key pillar of the UK government’s £12bn 10-point plan for a future-thinking green industrial revolution – just one part of its target of a Net Zero economy by 2050. It’s anticipated that by 2030 around 30% of all cars will be battery powered, but most of the automotive industry’s batteries are still currently made in the Far East. Ensuring that high-quality batteries are produced directly in the UK, close to the point of use, is crucial to the growth of green UK manufacturing – whether it’s the automotive sector, or the broader renewable energy sector. That makes the announcement of Britishvolt’s gigaplant a key strategic moment for the UK, as it accelerates towards an all-electric future for the automotive industry – a future that will play a crucial part in reducing the UK’s overall carbon footprint. A clear vision to electrify UK industry “We’re focused on one mission,” says Britishvolt founder and CEO Orral Nadjari. “Investment in battery technologies lies at the centre of the UK government’s industrial strategy. It’s imperative that Britain vastly increases its battery making capacity as the future of the British car industry and energy sectors depends on it. “Fail, and we fall behind. Other countries will take leadership, just as China is doing on a global scale. We’ll have to rely on imported technology to fulfil our future ambitions. Imagine if Britain had missed out on the first industrial revolution? I believe this would be an opportunity missed on that scale. “The UK’s first battery gigaplant is an essential component to a zero-emissions electrified future that relies on world-class batteries to power it.” Designed to rethink battery production Alongside a planned global headquarters in the automotive heartland of the West Midlands, Britishvolt acquired the roughly 95-hectare site of the old coal stockyard at the Blyth Power Station in Northumberland as the home of its first battery gigaplant. With roughly £2.6bn of investment – one of the biggest industrial investments the UK has ever seen – construction of Britishvolt’s gigaplant is set to start this summer, with battery cell manufacturing anticipated to commence by the end of 2023. At its peak, the Britishvolt gigaplant will produce enough advanced cells for around 300,000 lithium-ion car batteries per year – directly employing upwards of 3,000 people, with the potential for 5,000 additional jobs created in the wider supply chain. It’s the biggest automotive industrial investment in the North East since Nissan arrived in Sunderland in 1984, with Britishvolt’s gigaplant creating a boost to the local economy that Blyth Valley MP Ian Levy called “a once-in-a-generation opportunity”. Crucially, the North East site meets all of Britishvolt’s core needs. “Our new site is on the doorstep of major transport links, it has easily accessible renewable energy and the opportunity for a co-located supply chain,” says Nadjari. “That meets our target to make our Britishvolt gigaplant one of the world’s cleanest, greenest battery-making facilities.”
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