Britishvolt delays battery production by six months

Battery start-up Britishvolt has announced it will delay battery production at its plant in Blyth, Northumberland, by six months, from the end of 2024 to mid-2025.

The firm originally stated it would begin mass-manufacturing cells from the end of 2023 before “it realised end-2023 was too optimistic and adjusted production timing to end-2024,” according to an official statement.

Britishvolt filed for administration on 17 January 2023. Click here for the latest updates: Britishvolt collapses with loss of nearly 300 jobs

Outgoing Britishvolt CEO Orral Nadjari told the Financial Times (FT) “[the delay] does go hand in hand with the fact that we have inflation, we have recession and we have geopolitical uncertainties”.

The Guardian recently reported that leaked internal documents from Britishvolt suggested work on its Blyth plant was on “life support” to cut spending, severely limiting progress until February while the firm focuses on securing critical power supply infrastructure and further investment.

The newspaper added that "making redundancies, terminating all contracts and delaying all works other than electricity infrastructure until June 2023" were also considered (but rejected) by Britishvolt.

Britishvolt spokesperson Ben Kilbey said: “Plans remain on track and are agile and nimble to counter external market forces. On top of current inflationary pressures, and an increase in interest rates, we are also seeing ballooning energy costs on the back of geopolitical uncertainties.”

The company stated that, despite the delay, it will still provide sample battery cells to customers within “the next few weeks” and that it is pressing on with plans for a facility at Hams Hall in the Midlands. This site will be a “mini-replica” of the gigafactory and will aim to "establish best practices’' for Blyth.

Nadjari stepped down as CEO last week, having stated it was “the right time” to pass the reins to deputy Graham Hoare in the interim.

In spite of the fact that Britishvolt has yet to sign official supply deals with any major car manufacturers, Nadjari told the FT that the firm was “no longer a Powerpoint idea,” adding “the batteries are actually going into the hands of blue-chip OEMs”.

The firm (at the time of writing) has signed memoranda of understanding with Aston Martin and Lotus – which made official both sides’ intentions to form a business partnership – but not supply deals with the two marques.