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Britishvolt gets £100m boost to build UK’s first large-scale ‘gigafactory’
The UK government will invest £100m in Britishvolt as the car battery manufacturing startup seeks to build Britain’s first largescale ‘gigafactory’ in the northeast of England.
The government’s Automotive Transformation Fund will invest alongside asset management company Abrdn and its majority-owned property investment arm, Tritax, to fund a sale and leaseback deal for the huge building that will house the electric car battery factory, near Blyth in Northumberland. The first batteries are scheduled to start production in 2024 to take advantage of rising demand ahead of the UK’s 2030 ban on new cars without a battery. The government and Britishvolt declined to detail the size of the government investment, citing commercial confidentiality. However, a source with knowledge of the negotiations said it was worth about £100m. Peter Rolton, Britishvolt’s executive chairman, said: “The UK automotive industry needs a local source of batteries. Chinese or other Asian imports are not going to be an option. There will be very, very significant shortfalls of batteries. We are absolutely vital to maintain the UK industry and support those jobs.”
Williams Advanced Engineering sold in £164M deal
Williams Advanced Engineering has been sold to Fortescue Metals Group by private equity firm EMK Capital and Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited for £164 million.
WAE will be integrated into Fortescue’s diversified resources and green energy business and will be managed via Fortescue Future Industries, Fortescue’s green energy and green technology division. Fortescue has worked closely with WAE since early 2021 to design and build a prototype battery system to power an electric mining haul truck. The acquisition will see Fortescue and WAE develop battery electric solutions for Fortescue’s rail, mobile haul fleet and other heavy mining equipment, to accelerate the rapid abatement of diesel usage to achieve the decarbonisation of Fortescue’s mining operations by 2030. The transaction is expected to conclude by the end of March 2022, subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions precedent including United Kingdom foreign investment approval.
Sunderland has been ranked as the best city to own an electric vehicle in the UK, according to new research from Forbes Advisor.
With nearly 750,000 new EVs registered in 2021, Forbes Advisor used data from 20 of the most populated cities in the UK and ranked each city based on four EV metrics: cost of charging an EV at home, number of standard and rapid EV charging points per 100,000 people, and the number of rapid charging points per registered EV in the area. Based on this data, each location was assigned an ‘EV Accessibility Rating’ out of 80, with Sunderland coming out on top, scoring 69, and Portsmouth ranking lowest with a score of 23. London scored 49. The 10 best cities to own an EV, with their ‘EV Accessibility Rating’ are:
Sunderland – 69 Coventry – 68 Newcastle – 63 Leeds – 55 Middlesbrough – 54 Sheffield – 50 London – 49 Reading – 47 Brighton – 41 Cardiff – 41
5 EV NEWS MFG to open 60 EV hubs this year with £50 million investment
Motor Fuel Group has announced plans to open 60 new electric vehicle charging hubs this year as part of a £50 million investment.
American startup claims 750-mile range with next-gen batteries
Detroit-based startup Our Next Energy has claimed a 750-mile range on a Tesla Model S thanks to a next-generation battery.
The company conducted road tests of its new prototype batteries earlier this week and reported a 752-mile range before recharging. The test was carried out across Michigan in late December, with the Model S travelling at an average speed of 55 miles per hour, ONE said. The company said it chose the Tesla model because it had a “fairly high efficiency and a fairly large battery pack” which provided enough space to fit ONE’s battery. ONE hopes to produce batteries capable of similar ranges by late 2023, with the company also focused on developing an advanced long-range battery that uses safer and more sustainable materials, while packing more energy into a smaller, less expensive package.
VW and Bosch aim to industrialise manufacturing process for battery cells
scale solutions for battery manufacturing in Europe.
The companies aim to supply the entire range of processes and components needed for the largescale manufacture of battery cells and systems. The partnership will draw on complementary areas of expertise, with Volkswagen becoming a major battery cell manufacturer, and combining Bosch’s know-how in factory automation and systems integration. The companies aim to supply the entire range of processes and components needed for the large-scale manufacture of battery cells and systems. The move comes as demand for the market continues to grow. The investment will see MFG install over 350, ultrarapid 150kW EV chargers at 60 hubs throughout the UK. This project is part of MFG’s commitment to invest £400 million in EV infrastructure by 2030. Beyond the 60 new hubs scheduled for opening in 2022, MFG will energise a further 20 sites in Q1 2022 that have been completed in the final months of 2021. MFG hubs will consist of between four and eight ultra-rapid 150kW EV Chargers per site. 150kW chargers can add 100 miles range in approximately ten minutes, subject to the charging capability of individual car batteries. These will be augmented with 300kW+ chargers as vehicle battery technology improves to maintain the fastest charging times across the MFG network. The investment in 2022 builds on the £40 million EV investment undertaken in 2021 which saw MFG significantly boost the national ultra-rapid EV charging infrastructure, as well as opening their visionary flagship forecourt in Putney and the NorthWest of England’s first dedicated ultra-rapid EV only site in Manchester. Alongside its investment in EV, MFG made a £50 million investment to improve its retail, food to go, and valeting offer to the consumer in 2021. MFG’s investment will continue in the years ahead across its UK wide network.
NEWS IN BRIEF
The first electric vehicle charging points for customers in Tesco stores in Northern Ireland are now live at the Craigavon Extra store, County Armagh.
Facilities management firm Mitie has converted 30% of its fleet to electric vehicles, three months ahead of its March 2022 target.
National housing provider Stonewater has unveiled plans to roll out EV chargepoints across its new-build and existing housing developments.
Maserati is to become the first Italian brand to race in Formula E, as the manufacturer confirmed its plans to enter the Gen3 era of the motorsport.
British Lithium has produced lithium at pilot scale from the mica in granite at its new plant near Roche, Cornwall.
