Britishvolt announces major partnership to rev up battery gigafactory plans

The partnership with the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre will see the development, assembly and manufacture of Britishvolt’s next generation sample cells for mass production and commercialisation

Britishvolt has singed a two-year, multi-million pound agreement with the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) to scale up next generation battery cell technologies.

The partnership with the UK-Government backed research facility will see the development, assembly and manufacture of the British company’s next generation sample cells for mass production and commercialisation.

Britishvolt is developing batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) that are more energy-dense and have high nickel content to give customers increased battery performance with longer range.

The news follows Britishvolt securing backing from the UK Government for its planned battery plant in northern England last week.

Its 30GWh facility in Blyth is expected to start production in 2023 and is estimated to produce battery packs for more than 300,000 vehicles a year when it reaches peak production in 2027.

Graham Hoare, President of Global Operations, Britishvolt believes UKBIC is an “essential ingredient” in the company’s accelerated roadmap to market, which provides a platform and environment that delivers “high quality development cells in a time period that would be almost impossible in other territories”.

He said: “By working with our customers early we can offer flexibility and specific attributes linked to their application requirements. This is a vital USP and signals that the age of ‘off the peg’ battery production is no longer suitable for all.

“This is further endorsement of the work the UK Government has done to help develop the world’s best battery ecosystem and accelerate Britain into pole position in Europe. Low carbon, sustainable battery cells and associated R&D are the essential ingredients on the glide-path to net zero. Only responsibly produced batteries will lead to a successful energy transition.”

UKBIC is a national battery manufacturing development facility providing battery manufacturing scale-up and facilitating upskilling in the sector.

Jeff Pratt, Managing Director at UKBIC added: “The manufacture of low carbon battery cells are vital for a successful energy transition to net zero. We are here to support UK companies scaling up their battery production and up skilling their workforce and we welcome the opportunity to support Britishvolt on their journey.”

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