8:13 am, October 16, 2022
The future of Britishvolt has been plunged into doubt after it was revealed that the firm could ‘run out of money’ before the year is out.
Bosses are now reportedly locked in desperate talks with seven potential investors as the company looks to avoid extinction.
The Financial Times reports that Tata Motors is among those discussing investment, or even a full-on takeover bid.
It is believed that Britishvolt needs to raise as much as £200m in its bid to survive with insiders saying the company’s plans had been ‘refocused and sharpened given the negative global economic situation’.
The news comes after the firm’s founder, Orral Nadjari, quit from the post of chief executive back in August.
At that time, leaked documents claimed the company was ‘on life support’ and the situation does not seem to have improved in the months since.
Earlier this year, the company was awarded more than £100m in government funds via the £850m Automotive Transformation Fund.
The first part of the construction is due to finish in 2023, with completion of the factory in Cambois, Northumberland, near Blyth, scheduled for 2027.
The gigafactory is set to create 3,000 direct highly skilled jobs and another 5,000 indirect jobs in the wider supply chain, eventually producing enough lithium-ion batteries for more than 300,000 EVs each year.
A spokesman for Britishvolt refused to be drawn on ‘market speculation’ but insisted the outfit was ‘working on several potential scenarios that offer the stability needed to enable us to carry on building a strong and viable British battery cell R&D and manufacturing business’.
