Northumberland-based battery cell manufacturer Britishvolt will build its £200m battery cell scale-up facility in the West Midlands.
Through a partnership with Prologis, the Britishvolt will use the Hams Hall facility to research new cell formats and electro chemistries.
The site will accelerate its output of production-ready cells, which will then be manufactured at scale at its Northumberland “gigaplant”.
The Hams Hall location will create 150 “highly skilled” technology jobs, Britishvolt said.
“I am delighted to see Britishvolt lead the UK’s journey into re-industrialisation with the first full-scale battery gigaplant,” said Paul Franklin, property director, Britishvolt.
“The new R&D and scale-up facilities announced today will help the UK build on its home-grown battery intellectual property and level up the country ready for the energy transition.”
Earlier this year Britishvolt raised £40m from Glencore, which aimed for a £200m close for the funding of the gigaplant.
Britishvolt plans for Hams Hall to be completed in the latter half of 2023, with the gigaplant becoming operational in 2024.
“We are already the heartland of the UK’s automotive industry with the country’s biggest car manufacturer, Europe’s largest research centre of its kind, the UK’s only battery industrialisation centre, and a world-leading supply chain,” said Andy Street, mayor, West Midlands.
The construction for the facilities will be net-zero carbon and when operating will have an A-grade EPC rating.
Earlier this month, Britishvolt acquired German battery cell developer and manufacturer EAS.
Britishvolt has also partnered with luxury British car manufacturer Aston Martin to develop “high performance” battery technology and Norfolk-based sports car maker Lotus for “specific” battery cell requirements.
“The West Midlands is already a ‘golden triangle’ of international battery excellence with the Warwick Manufacturing Group, Advanced Propulsion Centre and UK Battery Industrialisation Centre,” said Tom Price, capital leasing and deployment director, Prologis UK.
According to Dealroom Brtishvolt has received $305m (£241m) in funding with a valuation between $211m – $317m (£167m – £251m).
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