Britishvolt selects key suppliers for Gigaplant Phase One production line equipment
December 23, 2021
- Following a diligent six month collaboration and selection process, Britishvolt has nominated five key suppliers to build the production line equipment for the first phase of its Gigafactory in Northumberland.
- Partner suppliers were selected not only for the technical capability of their solutions, but also on their commitment to Environmental, Social and Governance metrics and alignment with Britishvolt’s core principles and values.
- The partnerships leverage both European and Asian supply chains bringing a mix of innovative and established technology solutions together and further indicating the need for global collaboration for a successful energy transition.
Northumberland, 23/12/2021: Britishvolt, the UK’s foremost investor in battery cell technologies and associated R&D, has selected its key partners to build production line equipment for the first phase of its Gigaplant rollout program.
The news represents a major milestone on Britishvolt’s quest to assist vehicle OEMs on their roadmap to electrification. The supplier nominations cover the critical cell production process equipment including mixing, coating and drying, calendering and slitting, vacuum drying, cell assembly and formation aging and testing.
“Britishvolt aims to become a clean technology leader in the lithium-ion battery cell development and manufacturing industry. The performance of a battery is closely linked to how it is made. Therefore, we require high quality and efficient equipment to deliver our performance cells.
These selections are aligned to our potential customers, and all parties clearly understanding latest trends and market requirements. As such, these are the right, and responsible, partners for our initial production equipment. Innovative, as well as artificial intelligence-supported, manufacturing equipment will become a core part of our operational strategy.
That allows us to realise the full potential of our premier Gigasite in Northumberland, creating production efficiencies and resulting in lowered operating costs and energy consumption. To be successful, choosing the right partners is critical and I believe we have found that in these choices are strategic partnerships.”
Timon Orlob, Britishvolt Global Chief Operating Officer
“The dynamics in the e-mobility market is rapidly picking up pace. In view of the large number of announced projects in Europe for battery lines, it is only a matter of time before the mechanical engineering sector reaches its limits in terms of development and production capacities.
With the investment in the English location in the county of Northumberland, Britishvolt is now securing the resources required for its growth strategy from us in time. With our many years of experience in the development of innovative production concepts and solutions for the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries, we are an internationally sought-after partner.
Our cooperation with Britishvolt is an outstanding example of this. Together, we are striving to make production more sustainable overall and significantly reduce total cost of ownership by consistently reducing energy consumption and a continuously automated process optimization through the use of artificial intelligence.”
Martin Drasch, CEO of Manz AG
“According to eco-friendly policies and strengthened ESG management, the growth rate of the rechargeable battery market is expected to accelerate. Therefore, CIS has been increasing the corporate value by securing leading edge technology and expanding production capacity through continuous R&D efforts.
Through the partnership agreement with Britishvolt, CIS will do its best to become a responsible strategic partner which will be well known for its performance and value in UK. And the final target will be becoming a leader in the electrode manufacturing equipment in the European market with high quality, efficiency and safety.”
Mr Kim Sooha, CEO of CIS
“We are very excited to move forward with Britishvolt in accelerating the green energy transition in UK and in Europe. Together with our joint-venture partner CIS, we established DC Energy GmbH back in 2019 with its mission to support greener Europe through delivering most cost-effective and most sustainable production equipment in each and every cell-manufacturing processes.
Our partnership with Britishvolt provides great opportunity in achieving our mission and proving our unique values in the battery industry.”
Mr. Ichiro Uno, CEO of Daiichi Jitsugyo Co., Ltd., a JV partner of CIS
Britishvolt story to date.
Britishvolt is on target to responsibly manufacture some of the world’s most sustainable, low carbon, sustainable, battery cells on the site of the former Blyth Power Station coal stocking yard located in Cambois, Northumberland.
The development is a major boost for Northumberland, and indeed the country, and will bring around 3,000 direct highly-skilled jobs and another 5,000+ in the associated supply chains.
Construction started on the site on September 6, 2021, following a unanimous planning decision approval earlier in the year. The project will be built in phases, to keep up with technology advancements, and will have a total capacity of over 30GWh by the end of the decade onwards.
Once at full capacity, the Gigaplant will have a production capability equating to approximately enough cells for over 300,000 electric vehicle battery packs per year, intended primarily for the automotive industry.
It will be the first large full cycle Gigaplant in the UK.
Britishvolt believes that domestically produced, low carbon, sustainable, responsibly manufactured battery cells can literally help save the planet and by virtue humanity. The time has come to stop burning fossils for energy. Let the dinosaurs sleep. This is not a rehearsal.
Notes to Editors
For more information please contact:
Ben Kilbey, Britishvolt’s Chief Communications Officer:
+44 7305 032904
Safe Harbour.
Certain statements in this press release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements regarding our future business expectation intended to qualify for the ‘safe harbor’ under the U.S. Private Securities Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements.
The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, competition including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, equipment procurement, wage increases, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time contracts or time and material construction contracts, customer concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage international operations, reduced demand, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages related to battery service agreements, the success of the companies in which Britishvolt has made strategic partnerships, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies and unauthorised use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry. In addition, please note any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions we believe to be reasonable as of the date of this press release.
