The Tories have accused First Minister Mark Drakeford of allowing the Britishvolt gigafactory project, creating 7,000 direct and indirect jobs, to slip through his fingers at a huge cost to the Welsh economy.
Despite initial scepticism about the start-up firm’s ability to raise the finance, Britishvolt has recently confirmed it has secured £1.7bn in backing, including £100m from the UK Government’s Automotive Transformation Fund, for an electric vehicle battery factory in Blyth in the north east of England. It is scheduled to open in 2023.
The project was first mooted for the Welsh Government-owned Bro Tathan business park in St Athan, after Britishvolt had identified it as its preferred location in the UK.
