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Released January 19, 2023 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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GALWAY, IRELAND--January 19, 2023--Written by Martin Lynch, European News
Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The U.K.'s best hope of becoming a major European player in the fast-growing electric vehicle (EV) sector, Britishvolt (Blyth), has gone into insolvency and administration.
Emergency shareholder talks failed to secure a last-minute rescue package to save the company and its 300 staff who were made redundant with immediate effect. Accountants Ernst & Young (EY) have been appointed as administrators and confirmed that the company had entered administration "due to insufficient equity investment for both the ongoing research it was undertaking and the development of its sites in the Midlands and the north-east of England." Britishvolt was the U.K.'s leading EV battery startup and had plans to build the country's first major battery plant in Blyth, Northumberland. The £3.8 billion (US$4.6 billion) plant would have been able to produce enough battery cells for more than 300,000 lithium-ion batteries a year when fully commissioned in 2027. The project was set to create 3,000 direct jobs and another 5,000 indirect jobs in the wider supply chain. Industrial Info is tracking six projects associated with the company.
"Britishvolt provided a significant opportunity to create jobs and employment, as well as support the development of technology and infrastructure needed to help with the U.K.'s energy transition," Dan Hurd, joint administrator and partner at EY-Parthenon, told media. "It is disappointing that the company has been unable to fulfill its ambitions and secure the equity funding needed to continue. Our priorities as joint administrators are now to protect the interests of the company's creditors, explore options for a sale of the business and assets, and to support the impacted employees."
There were hopes that a last-minute bid from an unnamed "British consortium" could have prevented it falling into administration. Two other bids for the project in the Port of Blyth were put forward, one from an Indonesia-linked investment group and another from a number of small existing investors. It is thought that a proposed rescue package would have cost in the region of £160 million (US$195 million) and value the company at just £30 million (US$36.6 million)--95% less than the company's valuation at last February's funding round.
In recent weeks a number of key senior managers had already abandoned ship, including the head of production, head of project manufacturing, the head of cell design and engineering, the head of procurement, the head of insurance and the director of human resources. Last November, Industrial Info reported that the company had narrowly avoided administration after receiving last-minute funding from unnamed backers. That funding was designed only to help ensure short-term survival after the company failed to draw down promised government funding. The government had confirmed a pledge to supply the firm with £100 million (US$115 million) in financial support for the project but then reportedly refused the company's request for the first third of that funding, leading to near-collapse towards the end of last year. For additional information, see November 8, 2022, article - Britishvolt EV Battery Company Avoids Collapse.
Industrial Info is also tracking the only other U.K. EV battery gigafactory project, being developed by Envision AESC in Sunderland, England. It will have an annual capacity of 11 gigawatt-hours (GWh) when it is commissioned in 2024, rising to an annual capacity of up to 38 GWh when fully expanded in later years.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
Emergency shareholder talks failed to secure a last-minute rescue package to save the company and its 300 staff who were made redundant with immediate effect. Accountants Ernst & Young (EY) have been appointed as administrators and confirmed that the company had entered administration "due to insufficient equity investment for both the ongoing research it was undertaking and the development of its sites in the Midlands and the north-east of England." Britishvolt was the U.K.'s leading EV battery startup and had plans to build the country's first major battery plant in Blyth, Northumberland. The £3.8 billion (US$4.6 billion) plant would have been able to produce enough battery cells for more than 300,000 lithium-ion batteries a year when fully commissioned in 2027. The project was set to create 3,000 direct jobs and another 5,000 indirect jobs in the wider supply chain. Industrial Info is tracking six projects associated with the company.
"Britishvolt provided a significant opportunity to create jobs and employment, as well as support the development of technology and infrastructure needed to help with the U.K.'s energy transition," Dan Hurd, joint administrator and partner at EY-Parthenon, told media. "It is disappointing that the company has been unable to fulfill its ambitions and secure the equity funding needed to continue. Our priorities as joint administrators are now to protect the interests of the company's creditors, explore options for a sale of the business and assets, and to support the impacted employees."
There were hopes that a last-minute bid from an unnamed "British consortium" could have prevented it falling into administration. Two other bids for the project in the Port of Blyth were put forward, one from an Indonesia-linked investment group and another from a number of small existing investors. It is thought that a proposed rescue package would have cost in the region of £160 million (US$195 million) and value the company at just £30 million (US$36.6 million)--95% less than the company's valuation at last February's funding round.
In recent weeks a number of key senior managers had already abandoned ship, including the head of production, head of project manufacturing, the head of cell design and engineering, the head of procurement, the head of insurance and the director of human resources. Last November, Industrial Info reported that the company had narrowly avoided administration after receiving last-minute funding from unnamed backers. That funding was designed only to help ensure short-term survival after the company failed to draw down promised government funding. The government had confirmed a pledge to supply the firm with £100 million (US$115 million) in financial support for the project but then reportedly refused the company's request for the first third of that funding, leading to near-collapse towards the end of last year. For additional information, see November 8, 2022, article - Britishvolt EV Battery Company Avoids Collapse.
Industrial Info is also tracking the only other U.K. EV battery gigafactory project, being developed by Envision AESC in Sunderland, England. It will have an annual capacity of 11 gigawatt-hours (GWh) when it is commissioned in 2024, rising to an annual capacity of up to 38 GWh when fully expanded in later years.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
