Low power mode: How Britain’s electric vehicle hopes hit a stumbling block

Britishvolt was considered by many in the electric vehicle and battery industry as an ambitious startup that never quite hit full power. The company, founded by Orral Nadjari and Lars Carlstrom had a simple premise: produce batteries for electric vehicles. 

The company had both ups and downs however, things took a turn for the worst in January of this year when the company effectively ran out of money to continue construction on its plant in Blyth. This comes on the back of car production levels dropping to the lowest levels for 60 years. This was was compounded by uncertainty and a lack of involvement in the UK industry from major players such as: like Ford, GM, JLR and BMW.

The UK government did commit £100 million in funding to the Blyth based ‘gigaplant’, however this funding never arrived due to the companies private funding targets never being met. Of the £4 billion needed for the construction of the plant the company had only raised £200 million by the summer of 2022 and was forced to push back its construction timeline. Nearly a year down the line there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel for the project as Australian firm, Recharge has announced a takeover to bring the Britishvolt out of administration.

With the takeover comes a change in strategy for the company, instead of battery production solely for electric vehicles the company’s new strategy will focus on batteries for energy storage and hopes to have those products available by the end of 2025, The company then intends to move into battery production for high performance sports cars.

Chief executive of Recharge, David Collard is keen to build a facility like that in his hometown of Geelong, near Melbourne. Collard is spending time consulting stakeholders as he aims to ensure a smooth process in the development of the UK plant, Collard told the BBC: "I spent a lot of time with Northumberland County Council. They genuinely want a gigafactory and the best thing for their people." It is hoped the site will produce over 8,000 jobs for the local area.