Australian company saves bankrupt UK car battery firm

LONDON

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Australian company Recharge Industries is to take over Britishvolt, a bankrupt startup planning a gigafactory for electric vehicle batteries in the U.K., administrators overseeing a rescue deal said yesterday.

Financial group EY said in a statement that it had chosen Recharge as preferred bidder for Britishvolt, which collapsed last month, and expects the purchase to be completed this week.

EY said it had entered into agreement with Recharge and its U.S. parent Scale Facilitation Partners for the
takeover.

“This follows a process conducted by EY that involved the consideration of multiple approaches from interested parties and numerous offers received,” the statement added.

David Collard, chief executive of Scale Facilitation and founder of Recharge Industries, said the deal would allow them to build the UK’s first gigafactory.

“We’re confident our proposal will deliver a strong outcome for all involved,” he added in a separate statement.

Recharge is in the process also of establishing a large-scale lithium-ion battery cell production and research capability in Australia.

“Using world leading artificial intelligence and multinational research partnerships, we are finding ways to make batteries better, safer, and longer lasting.”

Britishvolt, which was championed by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson to help drive a greener economy, failed to adequately finance a multi-billion-pound facility in Blyth, northeast England.

This despite the promise of government financial support and in the wake of funding by metals giant Glencore and British luxury car firm Aston Martin.

A majority of the 300 Britishvolt staff lost their jobs in the collapse.

The company had hoped to produce 300,000 electric vehicle batteries a year on a site employing about 3,000 staff.