Britishvolt: Battery start-up boss determined to see gigafactory built

The chairman of UK battery company Britishvolt says he is determined to see through the construction of its factory, despite concerns over funding.

The firm wants to build a vast plant producing batteries for electric vehicles but work has been delayed.

Peter Rolton said he did not want to "sell the site" in Northumberland or "give away the company".

On Monday, there were fears the start-up could collapse after the government rejected a £30m advance in funding.

The government had championed the so-called gigafactory in Blyth, and the 3,000 jobs expected to accompany it, to the point where it had committed £100m in total to Britishvolt.

But it refused to allow any funding to be draw down early.

Teetering on the brink of administration, it emerged on Tuesday that Britishvolt had secured a cash injection from an existing investor giving it a five-week breathing space.

Three hundred existing staff at the company have also taken a pay cut.

On a visit to the site earlier, Mr Rolton would not discuss how long the new investment would keep the company afloat.

"It would be entirely wrong to talk about a set number of weeks like it's some doomsday clock ticking down," he said.

"Let's just say we've got a reasonable runway of funding in place with our supporters and we're working absolutely tirelessly to turn this around and get more funding in."

Britishvolt currently has three different lines of batteries in development and prototypes were "out with customers being evaluated", Mr Rolton said.

"I don't want to sell this site and I don't want to give this site away. What I really want to do is built it, develop it and make it the success it should be for the UK."

Britishvolt has had to delay the start of production at the plant several times, with the latest announcement stating it would be delayed again until the middle of 2025.

It has blamed "difficult external economic headwinds including rampant inflation and rising interest rates".

Mr Rolton said: "The negative publicity is actually having a positive effect on engagement with funders who are now are coming back to us wanting to restart conversations."

Also at the site was shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds, who said: "This issue is of national importance, the automotive sector is of huge significance to the economy and if we want to keep that we need battery factories in the country.

"We need 10 of these factories up and running by 2040 and at the minute we have one."

A government spokesman said while it does not comment on the affairs of private companies it was "ensuring that taxpayers money is used responsibly and provides best value".

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