The company hoping to take charge of the Britishvolt gigafactory site has missed its latest deadline to complete the deal.
The stalled project - which is hoped will create thousands of jobs in Northumberland - was put in doubt earlier this summer when it emerged that Australian firm Recharge Industries had failed to complete the deal to buy Britishvolt out of administration. At the time, Recharge and its Australian parent group Scale Facilitation said that it would close the deal with administrators EY “in August” and disputed claims from EY that it had defaulted on the deal.
But with that deadline having passed, concerns are growing about the future of the crucial deal.
Read more: Nissan wins share of self-driving research funding
It is now almost three years since Britishvolt announced plans to build a battery gigafactory on the site of the old Blyth Power Station coal yards that would create 3,000 direct jobs and 5,000 in its supply chain. But the company collapsed in January after being unable to secure sufficient funding.
Recharge was named as the preferred bidder to take over the scheme earlier this year, but there have been concerns that another overseas start-up could also struggle to raise the estimated £4bn needed to make the project a reality. Recharge has not responded to requests from The Journal for comment, but Wansbeck MP Ian Lavery, whose constituency includes the Cambois site, is still hopeful that the project could go ahead.
He said: “I fully understand that people continue to have their doubts regarding the future of the proposed gigafactory in Cambois as they have been disappointed many times regarding false dawns on this site. This project is now entering its third year since it was announced and, like myself, people are frustrated and eager for these jobs to arrive.
“Nevertheless, I remain in close contact with the CEO of Recharge Industries who assures me that the deal to acquire the site will be completed in the near future. I will continue to do what I can to facilitate this deal and will provide any updates to my constituents and the wider region as I get them.”
Most Read
The Britishvolt project has the potential to be one of the most important schemes for the North East economy in decades. As well as aiming to bring thousands of jobs to a disadvantaged part of the North East, the gigafactory would be crucial to both the future of the 海角视频 automotive industry and the country’s net zero ambitions in providing batteries for the electric vehicles that will become standard for motorists in the next decade.
But when the firm went bust with debts of more than £150m in January, it emerged that it had not managed to generate any revenue and did not have any intellectual property. Despite needing to raise around £4bn for the project, only a fraction of the initial target of £800m had been met.