The boss of new Britishvolt owner Recharge Industries has set out why his company is better placed to deliver a gigaplant on the Northumberland site, saying it has lined up significant funding for the project.
David Collard, whose firm bought the failed start-up's business and assets from administrators at the end of February, has confirmed that an unnamed pension fund is in the final stages of agreeing a £2.5bn facility with Recharge and bridging finance of £60m is close to being secured with a financier. The New York-based entrepreneur gave an interview to The Australian Financial Review in which he set out reasons why he thought Britishvolt had failed.
A well understood concern was Britishvolt's lack of confirmed customers, despite some initial agreements, including with luxury car makers Lotus and Aston Martin. Recharge, which has called the gigaplant project a "massive opportunity" to develop North East skills and the supply chain, will initially focus on batteries for the energy storage market and says it already has an offtake agreement with a power company.
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In his interview with journalist Matthew Cranston, Mr Collard also pointed to Britishvolt's lack of technology, a problem Recharge avoids via its partnership with US lithium-ion battery specialist C4V. The tech underpins Recharge's gigaplant planned for Geelong in South East Australia.
And Mr Collard has also hailed his firm's supply chain links - pointing to Australia as a global source of lithium, one of the key elements in battery production. Earlier this year, Tees Valley Lithium - which is driving forward plans for a lithium hydroxide refinery on Teesside, said it had signed an agreement with Recharge that it hoped would become an offtake contract. Tees Valley Lithium will ship its raw materials from Australia to the North East for processing.
So far Recharge has remained reserved about detailing exact plans for the 93-hectare site, which is judged to be among the UK's prime locations for a gigaplant. In handling the affairs of Britishvolt, administrators EY suggested any company wanting to progress with a similar blueprint for the site would need funding of up to £6bn.
Britishvolt had accumulated losses of more than £150m and management had plans to raise £2.5bn of investment but had achieved only £167.5m by the time it collapsed. The start-up had been unable to access a £100m Government grant promised to it because it could not meet certain milestone conditions. As yet, the Government has not set out whether the same funding would be available to Recharge.
Speaking to North East businesses at an event in March, Mr Collard said: "The North East is building a reputation for world-class manufacturing. This project puts the spotlight on the region and is a real opportunity to shine and attract significant investment that the region really needs for the future."
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