The company hoping to set up a Northumberland gigafactory producing batteries for electric cars has signed up a German engineering giant to design its production line.
Britishvolt, which is aiming to build the battery plant at Cambois, near Blyth, has agreed an initial deal worth more than £70m with Manz AG for machines to produce lithin-ion batteries.
The German firm, which has already been working with Britishvolt during the planning phase of the gigafactory project, said its design would allow “a high degree of flexibility and can also be adapted for future market requirements of cell formats and geometries”.
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The two companies have also agreed to further expand their cooperation to support Britishvolt’s growth plans, both in Northumberland and with a second planned site in Canada.
Britishvolt is trying to raise more than £1bn to make its North East plans a reality, saying it would create 3,000 direct jobs at the gigafactory when it is fully operational, plus thousands more in its supply chain.
Timon Orlob, Britishvolt global chief operating officer, said: “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.
“Manz AG, with their engineering and automation experience and expertise, as well as already being well positioned and aligned to our potential customers, clearly understanding latest trends and market requirements. As such, Manz AG is the right partner for our initial production equipment. Innovative, as well as artificial intelligence-supported, manufacturing equipment will become a core part of our operational strategy.
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“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 partner is critical and I believe we have found that in the excellent team of Manz AG.”
Manz AG is already working with BMW to set up a battery production line in Germany.
Car manufacturers are scrambling to set up mass battery production facilities to meet deadlines to switch models away from petrol and diesel towards electric by the early 2030s.
Sunderland car manufacturer Nissan is working with battery partner Envision AESC to rapidly increase production on Wearside, with plans recently gaining planning approval.
Martin Drasch, CEO of Manz AG: “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.
“We are very proud that we were able to convince Britishvolt of our capabilities and look forward to growing together with our new partner in the coming years.”