Bosses at battery start-up Britishvolt have spoken about plans to attract international component manufacturers to a supplier park near the site of its forthcoming Northumberland gigafactory.
Peter Rolton, executive chairman at Britishvolt, told Business Live there was already interest from companies that will produce the parts needed for its batteries that will power the next generation of electric vehicles. Those firms would occupy 200 hectares, adjacent to the 93-hectare former Blyth Power Station coal yards site where Britishvolt is developing the 3,000-job plant.
The ambition means making that part of Northumberland competitive against other European sites where suppliers could choose to locate - a task Britishvolt is investigating with Advance Northumberland. Mr Rolton, whose own engineering consultancy has moved into nearby offices, said: "Our vision for this is not only the factory but all the principle component manufacturers, so you'll have the complete battery eco-system. The UK Government wants that because they don't want a replication of the semiconductor situation which has killed car production.
