Britishvolt has confirmed it will receive funding from the UK Government for its planned £3.8bn gigaplant in the southeast of Northumberland.
The company has secured funding from the Automotive Transformation Fund, run by the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK. The Automotive Transformation Fund is an £850 million programme to electrify Britain’s automotive supply chain and protect our nation’s competitiveness in the global market.
The factory will produce enough batteries for over 300,000 electric vehicles each year, significantly supporting the UK automotive industry’s transition to a zero emissions future and increased production of electric vehicles. The project will create 3,000 direct highly-skilled jobs and another 5,000 indirect jobs in the wider supply chain.
Isobel Sheldon, chief strategy officer at Britishvolt, said: “This is great news for our ambitious plans to construct the UK’s premier battery cell Gigaplant in Northumberland.”
“While the overwhelming majority of investment for the project will come from private sources, the ATF’s grant funding is very important in proving that the UK Government is confident that we will deliver on our plans, and this will help generate further private investment. It’s a clear indicator of the Government’s policy towards electrification of society in the race to zero.”
Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: “The vast site will ensure Britain can fully capture the benefits of the booming global electric vehicle market. The well-paid jobs and growth it will generate for the North East of England will be transformational, and are exactly the reason we are investing to make the UK the best place in the world for automotive manufacturing.”
Investment in this gigafactory will be the largest industrial investment in the North East since Nissan’s Sunderland plant opened in 1986.
