Home » UK Business News • World Business & Employment News » Australian battery maker Recharge Industries wins bid to take over bankrupt Britishvolt

Australian battery maker Recharge Industries wins bid to take over bankrupt Britishvolt

By Nagasunder in UK Business News, posted February 7, 2023

An Australian-based competitor battery startup has been chosen by administrators as the preferred bidder for the bankrupt Britishvolt.

Following Britishvolt's demise last month, EY revealed on Monday morning its team had selected Recharge Industries, which is backed by US investment firm Scale Facilitation Partners, to acquire the "bulk of the business and assets."

After months of funding issues, the UK company declared bankruptcy in mid-January, which led to the loss of more than 200 jobs.

At this point, it was unclear exactly what Recharge had committed to purchase, but part of what it had in mind to buy was the potential gigafactory site in Blyth, Northumberland.

David Collard, chief executive of Scale Facilitation and founder of Recharge, said: "We're thrilled to be progressing with our proposed bid for Britishvolt and can't wait to get started making a reality of our plans to build the UK's first gigafactory.

"After a competitive and rigorous process, we're confident our proposal will deliver a strong outcome for all involved."

It is expected that the new owner would keep the 26 employees who were kept on during the administration process.

Recharge said it was unable to comment at this stage on its larger employment intentions or whether it would look to rehire people who were laid off.

EY said of the preferred bidder decision: "This follows a process conducted by EY that involved the consideration of multiple approaches from interested parties and numerous offers received.

"Completion of the acquisition is expected to occur within the next seven days."

Next year, Recharge plans to start a plant in Geelong, Australia.

Need Career Advice? Get employment skills advice at all levels of your career

Britishvolt's financial backing was very constrained, but its goal was to produce the power cells for 300,000 electric vehicle battery packs annually, eventually employing 3,000 people.

Private finance of £1.7 billion supported the £3.8 billion gigafactory project, but it was contingent on government assistance.

Despite receiving £100 million from the Automotive Transformation Fund, Britishvolt was found to have fallen short of some crucial goals, therefore the money remained locked up.

Source: Sky News

Follow us on YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook