Britishvolt receives last minute buyout, saving the sole U.K. battery maker

Credit: Britishvolt

Britishvolt has been purchased by Recharge Industries, an Australian battery manufacturer, who intends to complete Britishvolt’s Gigafactory in the north of England.

Britishvolt, the sole domestic battery manufacturer in the U.K., received considerable media coverage when it announced its massive £3.8 billion pounds ($4.54 billion) Gigafactory in Northern England, bringing patented battery chemistry and technology with it, but more importantly, jobs. But before the company could produce a single battery cell, it went bankrupt. Now, the defunct business has been rescued by an Australian battery maker, Recharge Industries, for an undisclosed amount.

Along with completing the construction of Britishvolt’s facility in Cambois, Recharge Industries has an all-out blitz planned to make its venture profitable as soon as possible. Foremost, thanks to the purchase of Biritishvolt’s patented technology and chemistry, Recharge will be integrating the innovations into its own products being made in Geelong, Australia.

Recharge Industry CEO David A. Collard echoed the urgency message: “Our proposal combined our financial, commercial, technology, and manufacturing capabilities with a highly credible plan to put boots and equipment on the ground quickly. “Further indicating his optimism, Collard noted, “Backed by our global supply chain, strategic delivery partners, and a number of significant customer agreements in place, we’re confident of making the Cambois Gigafactory a success and growing it into an advanced green energy project. We can’t wait to get started and want to start as soon as possible.”

No timeline was provided by Recharge or its CEO on when Britishvolt would be able to start production, but with an expected large amount of corporate repair necessary, to say that Britishvolt will be ready overnight would likely be overly optimistic.

As the U.K. and Europe generally continue to separate themselves from China as the sole supplier of batteries for electric vehicles, there is no doubt that more projects like Britishvolt will be needed to support the growing demand for EVs. Hopefully, Recharge can turn around the defunct business and show that it can be done in the U.K. and the rest of Europe.

What do you think of the article? Do you have any comments, questions, or concerns? Shoot me an email at william@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @WilliamWritin. If you have news tips, email us at tips@teslarati.com!

William Johnson: Will is an auto enthusiast, a gear head, and an EV enthusiast above all. From racing, to industry data, to the most advanced EV tech on earth, he now covers it at Teslarati.
Related Post
Disqus Comments Loading...