Britishvolt: Takeover welcomed by NE business groups

The takeover of the failed Britishvolt electric battery company by an Australian start-up has been "warmly welcomed" by regional business groups.

Britishvolt had planned to build a £4bn car battery plant near Blyth in Northumberland but its plan collapsed in January after running out of money.

Recharge Industries has bought Britishvolt out of administration.

The North East Chamber of Commerce said it hoped Recharge could "accelerate plans" for the factory.

Recharge, which is owned by a New York-based investment fund, said it plans to start at the site in Cambois by focusing on batteries for energy storage and hopes to have products available by the end of 2025.

It then intends to manufacture batteries for high-performance sports cars, chief executive David Collard said, ultimately supporting 8,000 jobs at the factory and in the supply chain.

John McCabe, chief executive of North East Chamber of Commerce, said: "We warmly welcome the news Recharge Industries has completed the acquisition of Britishvolt and can hopefully now accelerate plans to develop a battery factory with a thriving regional supply chain.

"This transformative project has the potential to place the North East, and the UK, at the front of battery manufacturing."

Mr McCabe said the region had "incredibly skilled workforce" and local businesses would be "eager to provide support for the project", adding: "These are exciting times for our region."

Glen Sanderson, leader of Northumberland County Council, said the deal was "no real surprise" as the authority had spoken to Recharge multiple times over the past few weeks and found them to be "very energetic, eager and savvy with what they want to do".

He said he hoped to see work begin "soon", adding: "We have a fantastic workforce in Northumberland and it's a brilliant site with everything they need.

"I'm sure things will fly."

The UK currently only has one Chinese-owned electric car battery plant which is next to the Nissan factory in Sunderland.

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