EV battery factory plan dropped for good

After three years of uncertainty, Northumberland City Council have ditched plans to build a new EV battery factory in favour of a computer data centre.

In 2021 Britishvolt, a UK startup manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries, proposed plans to build a new EV battery factory in Cambois, Northumberland, however the organisation collapsed at the beginning of 2023 after running out of money, which caused more than 200 people to lose their jobs.

The battery plant, which was going to be known as the ‘gigafactory’, was expected to create 3,000 highly-skilled jobs and another 5,000 indirect jobs in the wider supply chain, and had been touted as an example of ‘levelling up’.

However, following the companies collapse, Northumberland County Council have said they are now considering buying back the energy park, which was home to Britishvolt, in exchange for up to £110m from private equity firm Blackstone.

The investment firm plans to build a computer centre, known as a hyperscale data centre campus on the grounds. These types of establishments are often used by companies including Google, IBM and Microsoft and typically comprise more than 5,000 severs and cover 10,000 sq ft.

As this project is so big, the local authority have claimed that the plans would create more than 1,600 direct jobs and over 2,700 indirect roles over the course of its development.

Currently, there have been no details released about which organisation will be running the data centre, but the council is set to meet on 23^rd April to speak about the plans in more detail.

Commenting on the news, Scott Dickinson, said that although letting go of the previous battery factory plan was ‘disappointing’, the new proposal shows a lot of ‘promise’.

He added: ‘The local community shares a sense of caution but is determined to support and ensure the success of this endeavour.

‘The group pledges unwavering support for all initiatives and is eagerly anticipating crucial milestones such as the submission and review of planning applications.’

Image: Britishvolt 

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