Government support for a North East electric battery plant will “still be on the table” to aid the UK’s creation of a crucial EV ecosystem, the chair of the National Infrastructure Commission says.
Britishvolt collapsed into administration on Tuesday, taking with it the startup’s grand ambitions to build a £3.8bn battery plant in Blyth, Northumberland. There are hopes another company could bring the scheme to reality, and interested parties are now circling the prime site in Cambois, with two unidentified firms having already spoken to leaders at Northumberland County Council.
The failure of Britishvolt has led to scrutiny and criticism of the UK’s electric vehicle strategy, with industry leaders including Inobat boss Andy Palmer describing it as an “unmitigated disaster”. But Sir John Armitt, chair of the National Infrastructure Commission, which provides advice to the Government on infrastructure to help shape and develop the national infrastructure assessment, believes the North East plan can be resurrected.
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He said: “Clearly if the batteries can be manufactured in the UK close to where the cars are going to be assembled, then that is a good thing. It is very disappointing what has happened, but with the Government, support is still on the table, I’m sure, and hopefully a deal can be done with others who may come forward and resurrect this plant, so that we do have a significant plant in the UK.
“We probably need more than one at the end of the day. Certainly other countries, particularly China and Europe, are investing heavily in this. It won’t affect long-term take up of EVs necessarily in the UK because clearly the majority of electric cars that we buy in the UK come from overseas anyway. In terms of UK industry and business, then hopefully we will be able to see this plan resurrected as soon as possible so that jobs can be saved.”
Sir John also said the Government must publish its energy policy statement soon if the UK is to encourage investment. He said: “The Government needs to sort out and publish its national policy statement for energy, which will cover issues like EVs. We need to reduce the range anxiety, for example, to accelerate the sales if we are going to get to be able to stop selling petrol and diesel cars by 2030.
“Therefore we need to continue to accelerate the investment, both with the private sector and with support from the Government, in the EV charging network. I’m sure the Government recognises that the sooner they can clarify all aspects of it then the easier it will be for business and investors to invest and take up the opportunities in the UK. What we need is long term national policy statements from Government across a number of sectors, because that will then show to industry and investors that there are long term policies which will then give confidence to people to invest.”
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