Technology investor Britishvolt is to build the UK's first electric vehicle battery factory at Blyth, northeast England, with the total investment of GBP2.6 billion ($3.4 billion) creating 3,000 jobs at the site.
A further 5,000 jobs will be created in the wider supply chain, Britishvolt said Dec. 11, with construction due to start next summer and production -- aimed at more than 300,000 lithium ion batteries per year -- expected by the end of 2023 on a 95-hectare site that was once Blyth Power Station.
The new plant will use renewable energy, including the potential to use hydro power generated in Norway and transmitted 447 miles under the North Sea via the North Sea Link project's inter-connector.
The factory -- the largest industrial investment in England's Northeast since Nissan invested in Sunderland in 1984 -- will be one of the largest-ever industrial investments in the UK.
Britishvolt CEO Orral Nadjari said the site was close to major transport links, easily accessible renewable energy and the opportunity for a co-located supply chain.
With exclusive rights to the site secured, the company could "start the hard work and begin producing lithium-ion batteries for future electrified vehicles in just three years. It is crucial for the UK automotive industry and for the entire economy that we are able to power the future. The sooner we start, the better."
Britishvolt said its factory was "widely regarded as being strategically important for the UK automotive industry in order for it to maintain competitive advantage as we accelerate towards an increasingly electrified future."
Net-zero
The plant was one of the key pillars of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's 10-point plan for the UK's green recovery and an important step to a Net Zero economy by 2050, the company said.
Speaking to S&P Global Platts, Nadjari said the plant was "a big step forward in the UK's plans to decarbonize. We believe that this investment will help the country's ambitions to get traditional ICE [internal combustion engines] vehicles off the roads...These are no small statements and private sector and government must collaborate for success."
From an environmental, social and governance (ESG) perspective, Britishvolt was "tuning into the need for sustainable investments, and Blythe has fantastic links to renewable energy. The S [of ESG] will come from the job creation and protection of the UK auto industry, while the G will be steered by Britishvolt's vision of being a leader in the field," Nadjari said.
The factory is due to produce over 300,000 lithium ion batteries per year for the UK automotive industry.
Blyth Valley's Member of Parliament, Ian Levy, said he had been working with Britishvolt to do everything possible to bring the scheme to the area as the plant would have a massive impact in the constituency and the surrounding area for decades to come.
Advance Northumberland had also a played a critical role in reaching this point so quickly, Levy said.
"There is still much to do but the prospect of the UK's first gigafactory on the old Blyth Power Station site directly creating up to 8000 jobs is amazing. These jobs will not only return the area to the status of an industrial powerhouse but will help us retain our graduates and provide a huge boost to struggling high streets."
