Glencore and Jaguar owner join bid battle for Britishvolt

a sLEW of suitors are lining up bids for collapsed Britishvolt’s northumberland factory site.

Mining giant Glencore and Jaguar Land rover owner tata Motors are among more than a dozen firms believed to be interested in the site, the Financial times reported.

Britishvolt collapsed into administration this week in a major blow to the UK’s hopes of creating an electric car powerhouse. it has put some 230 jobs at risk.

after months of uncertainty, the start- up battery maker failed to secure a long-term solution from investors through either a sale or rescue funding.

Labour said the collapse was a ‘disaster’ for the UK car industry while former aston Martin boss andy Palmer said that it was an ‘unmitigated disaster for the auto industry in the UK’.

auditors from EY will oversee an administration process, with 206 of Britishvolt’s 232- strong workforce to be made redundant immediately. the other 26 are being kept on to assist with the sale of the business and its assets.

Founded in 2019, the manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries, a type of rechargeable battery that is used in electric vehicles, agreed to build a £3.8bn factory at Blyth in northumberland.

the site would have created 3,000 jobs and secured £100m in Government funding.

Despite being empty, the site was viewed as an ideal location for a massive battery factory thanks to its deepwater port and access to clean energy and rail links.

But delays to construction at Blyth meant this cash injection never materialised, with the Government refusing to advance £30m of the promised support last year, leaving Britishvolt on the brink of collapse.

a source close to Glencore, which is one of Britishvolt’s investors, said that it was ‘clearly supportive’ of battery factory development, but denied it was interested.