Britishvolt: Bailout deal doesn’t mean Britain will meet EV targets, analysts say

“Analysts Warn that Britishvolt’s Bailout Deal May Not Be Enough to Reach Electric Vehicle Targets”

Tuesday, February 07, 2023 7:00 a.m

A CGI rendering of Britishvolt’s planned Gigafactory (Source: Sky News/ Britishvolt)

It’s unclear whether the upcoming acquisition of Britishvolt will help Britain realize its electric vehicle ambitions, industry experts said, as many details of the deal remain unknown.

The collapsed battery startup is set to be acquired by Australian rival Recharge, which is owned by New York-based Scale Facilitation Partners.

Administrators EY selected the company over a number of competing bidders, with a deal expected to close within a week.

Frank Barrett, managing director of accessible vehicle manufacturer WN Vtech, said City AM He wasn’t sure the Britishvolt revival would boost UK EV production, but he hoped the government would take a more active role in incubating a new domestic auto industry – with early-stage funding for big projects.

He said: “I would expect the UK Government to actively participate in and support this critical capability to avoid either further delays or false starts.”

Gill Nowell of EV leasing group ElectriX welcomed the incoming deal for Britishvolt – as she argued it was essential to establish “that the UK is doing business”.

Nonetheless, she argued that if the UK is to maintain its aspirations of being a major player in electric vehicles, the focus must be on building reach beyond the factory.

She said: “Recharge Industries’ purchase of BritishVolt will help the UK achieve its EV ambitions, it will create important jobs and send a signal to automakers that the UK means business. It is also crucial that the UK develops a series of gigafactories to secure a future and our chances of being competitive in the EV market.”

Industrial strategy? Britishvolt and OneWeb prove that markets are usually best left alone

Experts await more details about Recharge’s plans

Britishvolt secured over £2bn in private funding for its £3.8bn facility, along with a £100m government grant contingent on meeting construction targets.

However, the start-up eventually ran out of resources and Downing Street turned down his request for a £30m advance on the grant as insufficient development had taken place at the plant.

That contributed to its downfall last month, as Britishvolt couldn’t access funds to develop its site without further construction, but was also unable to continue building without a further injection of funds.

Any buyer of the site is required to set up a battery factory within a certain timeframe under the agreements already in place – but it’s unclear whether Recharge will need to reach the promised scale of Britishvolt’s plans.

Britishvolt planned to build a 30GWh factory – which would employ around 3,000 workers at full capacity.

It is understood Recharge would like to transfer its lithium-ion battery technology, which is being developed alongside the company’s planned facility in Melbourne, Australia, to the UK facility to accelerate the site’s revitalization.

Going from being the core of Britain’s battery strategy to being the secondary hub of an Australian tech company could be seen as a setback for the company and the country’s aspirations.

But Jordan Roberts, an analyst at Fastmarkets NewGen, is hoping an international coalition could save the company from collapsing again.

“Recharge’s intentions for the Britishvolt business have not been detailed, but its US ownership and location in Australia could finally provide the missing pieces of the puzzle (capital, raw material supply and customers) to get the project off the ground,” he said .

A tale of two industries: Government will regret saving steel over Britishvolt

sections