In what could be one of his last acts as Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has signed off on a £100 million cheque for a gigafactory in Northumberland.
The Prime Minister confirmed this afternoon that an "in principle offer of support" was sent to Britishvolt in Cambois last night.
It is hoped that the battery factory, to be built at the former coal yards of the old Blyth Power Station, could provide 3,000 jobs directly on the site and up to 5,000 more in the plant’s supply chain.
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Wansbeck MP Ian Lavery, raising the issue at Prime Minister's Questions, said: "In January the government committed £100 million from the automotive transformation fund to Britishvolt, set to be the countries first gigafactory at Cambois in my constituency.
"As of today not a penny has been paid to the company and it is jeopardising up to 8,000 jobs in my constituency.
"The tensions between the Prime Minister and his former Chancellor over spending have been well documented. Can the Prime Minister please instruct his new chancellor to get the cheque in the post this afternoon and ensure at least one of his governments promises is upheld, because who knows who'll be sitting in those seats next week?”
Mr Johnson responded saying: "I can tell him that the letter was sent last night, in principle offer of support for this project."
The announcement means that the North East will have the UK’s first two battery gigafactories, following plans from Nissan and its battery partners Envision AESC announced next year.
The developments put the region at the lead of efforts to de-carbonise the transport sector and contribute to the Government’s net zero agenda.
Britishvolt first announced its plans for the site near Blyth in late 2020, though it warned at the time that it still needed to raise another £1.2bn to bring its vision to reality.
The company acquired the site last April and secured planning permission for what will be the fourth largest building in the UK in July. Preparatory work on the site has begun and the company will start the main construction process in the first quarter of this year.
The project will be built in phases to keep up with technological advances, but Britishvolt is aiming to have a total capacity of over 30GWh - producing batteries for more than 300,000 electric vehicles a year - by the end of the decade.
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