Aussie Firm Buys Moribund UK Battery Maker Britishvolt

Australian firm Recharge Industries has bought the defunct battery maker Britishvolt out of administration, Simon Jack BBC News business editor wrote.

Photo Insert: Britishvolt had planned to build a £4-billion battery plant near the Port of Blyth in Northumberland but it collapsed last month after running out of money.

Britishvolt had planned to build a £4-billion battery plant near the Port of Blyth in Northumberland but it collapsed last month after running out of money. Its downfall was blamed on a lack of battery experience, proven technology, customers, and revenue.

Recharge Industries has in many ways a similar profile - it is a start-up with little manufacturing experience.

The Australian company is ultimately owned and run by a New York-based investment fund called Scale Facilitation. "What we are bringing is validated technology," the fund's Australian chief executive David Collard told the BBC.

"The US defense industry has validated it and it is already supplied to the UK navy through a subcontractor."

The new owners will keep the Britishvolt brand name but have very different plans for the future. The company intends to start by focusing on batteries for energy storage and hopes to have those products available by the end of 2025. It then intends to produce batteries for high-performance sports cars.

The prospect of a much-needed plant that can produce batteries for high-volume carmakers in the UK looks many years off.

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