Britishvolt’s proposed battery gigafactory site at the former Blyth Power Station location has been reported to have attracted buyers from the motor and renewables sectors.
After the collapse of this week’s electric vehicle startup, the site near Cambois, Northumberland has been put up for sale. The company had intended to build a factory there because of its proximity to rail and port links and the existing North East automotive factories.
Britishvolt started preliminary works in 2021, sharing photos of the ground and diggers. However, the site is still vacant today after it was shifted to the Midlands’ Hams Hall scale up facility.
According to an FT report, Glencore PLC (LSE :GLEN), and Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata Motors were two of the people who inquired about the site. It said that a number of wind turbine and car manufacturers were also interested in the site, but Glencore denied any such interest.
Between 2003’s demise of Blyth Power Station and Britishvolt’s acquisition in late 2020, the site was proposed as a Npower PS2bn “clean coal” power station. It also could be used as a potential location for a PS80mln Siemens turbine factory.
EY appointed administrators this week to search for buyers for Power By Britishvolt, the UK’s main company in the group. This company owns the technology behind the prototype batteries and has 26 employees behind its intellectual property. The rest of its 300-strong workforce was made redundant.
EY stated that no other entities were involved in the group’s administration and that the site was likely to be held by an independent company.