British plans for a ‘gigafactory’ to spur electric carmakers have had a notable boost with Swiss commodities and mining major Glencore PLC (LSE:GLEN) (LSE:GLEN) taking a stake in the Britishvolt start-up.
Glencore at the same time secures supply agreements for the proposed factory, which requires cobalt and other so-called battery metals.
The miner produces cobalt and battery metals in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Australia, and it already has supply deals in place with Elon Musk’s Tesla as well as BMW.
Britishvolt is located in the North East (Northumberland) in proximity to a number of the UK’s car manufacturing centres and it is envisaged to be a £2.6bn project designed to secure a future focussed foothold in the industry and create jobs.
It is also seen as something of an environmental boon as it is expected to support the adoption of EVs in the UK, helping the government transition closer to carbon reduction and emissions targets – which include the banning of petrol and diesel vehicle sales from 2030 onwards.
The Britishvolt project gets a further symbolic green badge as it is being developed on the site of a decommissioned coal-fired power station near Blythe.
In July, the project landed planning permission for the site where ground breaking is slated before the end of this summer. It is anticipated that the ‘gigafactory’ will be built in three phases, comprising 10GWh capacity in each, which would by around 2027 see the facility produce lithium-ion batteries for some 300,000 electric cars per year.
Despite the patriotic name, the venture is privately owned and is led by Swedish entrepreneur Lars Carlstrom and Abu Dhabi financier Orral Nadjari – now, also, Switzerland headquartered Glencore.
The shareholder register could, according to the Financial Times, be opened up to the public in the coming months with a listing in either London or New York eyed, via a ‘SPAC’ (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) transaction which would see the private company bought by a listed cash-shell.