Northumberland gigafactory gets Government backing

The Government has backed plans for an electric vehicle battery gigaplant which will employ 3,000 people and create another 5,000 jobs.

Britishvolt’s plans for a plant in Blyth, Northumberland, are being supported by the Government’s Automotive Transformation Fund.

The Government backing is for an undisclosed amount believed to be around £100 million.

The firm said the plant will require £3.8 billion to set up and start production, with the building itself costing £1.7 billion.

It should have the capacity to manufacture 300,000 battery units every year, supplying around 25% of the current UK market.

It was in December 2020 that the firm first announced its intentions to build on a 93-hectare site where Britain’s largest coal-burning power station once stood.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “Britishvolt’s plan to build a new gigafactory in Northumberland is a strong testament to the skilled workers of the North East and the UK’s place at the helm of the global green industrial revolution.

“Backed by Government and private sector investment, this new battery factory will boost the production of electric vehicles in the UK, whilst levelling up opportunity and bringing thousands of new highly skilled jobs to communities in our industrial heartlands.”