Britishvolt Selects Blyth as the Site of its First Battery Gigaplant

Industry News – Friday, December 11, 2020

Battery technology investor Britishvolt has selected a site in the North East of England to build the UK’s first battery gigaplant. Total investment for Britishvolt’s gigaplant is £2.6bn making it one of the largest-ever industrial investments in the UK.

Britishvolt has acquired exclusive rights to a site in Blyth Northumberland and intends to begin construction in summer 2021. By the final phase of the project in 2027 it will be employing up to 3000 people, producing over 300,000 lithium-ion batteries for the UK automotive industry.

Britishvolt’s gigaplant is widely regarded as being strategically important for the UK automotive industry in order for it to maintain competitive advantage as we accelerate towards an increasingly electrified future. The building of a battery gigaplant is also one of the key pillars of the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson’s, ten-point plan for the UK’s green recovery and an important step to a Net Zero economy by 2050.

Britishvolt CEO, Orral Nadjari said: “We are delighted to have secured this site in Blyth. This is a tremendous moment both for Britishvolt and UK industry. Now we can really start the hard work and begin producing lithium-ion batteries for future electrified vehicles in just three years. It is crucial for the UK automotive industry and for the entire economy that we are able to power the future. The sooner we start, the better.

“Blyth meets all of our exacting requirements and could be tailor made. It is on the doorstep of major transport links, easily accessible renewable energy and the opportunity for a co-located supply chain, meets our target to make our gigaplant the world’s cleanest and greenest battery facility. We have had an extremely warm welcome from Ian Levy MP and Northumberland County Council and are looking forward to working with them closely on this project.”

The Britishvolt gigaplant will be built on a 95-hectare site, formerly the site of the Blyth Power Station. It will use renewable energy, including the potential to use hydro-electric power generated in Norway and transmitted 447 miles under the North Sea via the world’s longest inter-connector from the North Sea Link project.


Source: Britishvolt │ britishvolt.com
Image: Britishvolt │ britishvolt.com

The ees International Magazine is specialized on the future-oriented market of electrical energy storage systems, not only from a technological-, but also a financial and application-oriented point-of-view. In cooperation with ees Global, the ees International Magazine informs the energy industry about current progress and the latest market innovations.

You are using an outdated browser

The website cannot be viewed in this browser. Please open the website in an up-to-date browser such as Edge, Chrome, Firefox, or Safari.