Britishvolt has secured investment that signals plans to power maritime as well as automotive vehicles.
Britishvolt’s is working on plans on the former Blyth Power Station coal yards, which is hoped will create 3,000 direct jobs and another 5,000 through its supply chain once it opens in 2024.
The company – which secured “tens of millions” in funding from the Government – has already signed memorandums of understanding with both Lotus Cars and Aston Martin, which will see it develop electric vehicles powered by Britishvolt cells.
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Now Britishvolt is poised to explore battery power solutions for the maritime industry after securing the undisclosed investment from Monaco-based Scorpio Group, which has been investing in and operating seaborne transportation for almost 100 years.
Scorpio, which has also invested in the next generation of wind turbine installation vessels, is firmly focused on the need to decarbonize the maritime industry. The two companies say the deals marks a significant move in the right direction, with the maritime sector playing its part in the search for new fuels and propulsion systems in the ‘wave to zero’.
Orral Nadjari, founder and CEO, Britishvolt, added: “Britishvolt will be a leader in the most important race facing humanity and our planet – the race to carbon net zero. Or in this case ‘wave to zero’.
“We will be a positive force not just for our customers in helping them to achieve their decarbonisation goals, but also to those in the communities where we and our suppliers operate, ensuring that they too have a brighter future. The time has come to transition from fossil fuels to clean, renewable, low carbon electricity. The world deserves a clean air future for all. This is our mission at Britishvolt.”
Northumberland HR consultancy Inspired HR is looking to grow at home and abroad on the back of a five-figure investment.
The Blyth firm, which offers the full range of outsourced human resources services, has grown organically over the last five years and is now aiming to accelerate its expansion and is looking to break through the £1m turnover barrier within the next three years.
The Inspired management team has worked with regional fund management firm NEL Fund Managers to secure a £90,000 Small Loan Fund investment, to help strengthen the company’s legal and recruitment arms and take advantage of development opportunities.
The business has recently taken on a talent acquisition manager and a relationship manager and is expecting to create a further four new jobs this year, with more to follow next year.
Founder Nikki Masterman said: “The business was set up to inspire North East SMEs to deliver excellent HR services, as well as to give them somewhere to go to help manage any workforce issues that arise, and our growth so far has been based mainly around recommendations and positive word of mouth. The Middle East offers a range of opportunities for skilled North East personnel in areas such as foundry, oil and gas, and the relationships we’re building in these markets will make a significant contribution to our growth plans."
North East fashion rental pioneer Hirestreet will mark its fourth year in trading with a new collaboration with a retailer every week ahead of the peak of the summer season.
The Newcastle city centre based business was launched four years ago this month by young entrepreneur Isabella West in response to the rise in fast and throwaway fashion. It offers customers the chance to rent outfits for big events and holidays rather than buy items they would potentially wear once before discarding them.
Starting with the rental of a handful of dresses, Hirestreet now ships out thousands of outfits on a daily basis and has 1.8m users, plus collaborations with some of the UK’s largest retailers through its white label platform Zoa Rental.
A further eight brands are to be announced over the next two months, with Hirestreet launching a new rental collaboration every week ahead of peak-Summer 2022, starting with womenswear brands Miss Pap and Little Mistress.
The day after we published the story Hirestreet announced a collaboration with French Connection.
Teesside's Applied Graphene Materials has signed up an Indian distributor to promote its products across the country.
The Wilton Centre-based firm's partnership with Mumbai-based Imkemex is designed to extend Applied Graphene's reach into India's liquid resigns, coatings, composites and polymers sectors.
It builds on Applied Graphene's distribution agreements with chemicals and coatings distributors in a growing number of global export markets, helping it not only sell products but also understand future potential use for graphene.
Adrian Potts, Applied Graphene Materials CEO, said: “It is a great pleasure to be able to welcome Imkemex into AGM’s growing sales network as a technically-capable, commercially-astute distribution partner for our Genable brand in India. AGM is committed to enabling the widespread application of graphene dispersions and offering competitive advantages to its partners through the development of innovative graphene-enhanced products.
"At this stage of AGM’s commercialisation, the appointment of Imkemex as our regional distributor in a key strategic market is a significant step towards achieving further adoption of our dispersed graphene nanoplatelets globally.”
