British battery start-up britishvolt said on Tuesday that it would invest 200million pounds to build a pilot plant near Birmingham. The company also said that it was about to announce another major investor in the UK's largest electric vehicle battery factory plan. Britishvolt said the plant would start producing batteries by the end of next year and employ 150 employees.
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The plant will convert new battery formats and chemicals into producible batteries, which will support the smooth start-up of the company's £ 2.6 billion plant in Northumberland in 2024.
Britishvolt is one of the few start-ups to announce plans to build large battery plants in the UK, which require cornerstone investors and commitment. Although the company has signed framework agreements with British automakers including Aston Martin and lotus, it has not yet obtained a firm commitment to build a 38billion watt hour plant on the site of a coal-fired power plant near Bryce.
The company said in an email that it plans to provide funds for the 12 gigawatt hour pilot facility from existing funds and future rounds of financing, and will announce the second "FTSE 100 index" investor in the coming weeks.
