The majority of staff have been made redundant at the main UK company in the wider Britishvolt Group following the appointment of administrators.
Dan Hurd, Jo Robinson and Alan Hudson of EY-Parthenon’s turnaround and restructuring strategy team have been appointed as joint administrators of Power by Britishvolt Ltd.
Power by Britishvolt Ltd was incorporated in 2019 within the wider Britishvolt Group, which was set up with the intention of building and operating a Gigafactory site in Northumberland to provide sustainable, low-carbon batteries to the UK motor industry and beyond.
No other entities in the Britishvolt Group, including a number of UK entities, are in administration.
In January 2022, the government backed plans for the 30GWh Britishvolt Gigafactory in Blyth which is expected to create in excess of 3,000 jobs.
Britishvolt received an offer of government funding through the Automotive Transformation Fund for the Gigafactory which, once complete, was expected to produce enough batteries for more than 300,000 electric vehicles each year.
The company has entered into administration due to insufficient equity investment for both the ongoing research it was undertaking and the development of its sites in the Midlands and the North East.
The joint administrators are assessing the options for realising the potential value in the business and assets of the company, including intellectual property and R&D assets, for the benefit of creditors. The administrators will subsequently implement a closure and winding down of the company’s affairs, as required.
As a result, the majority of Power by Britishvolt employees have been made redundant with immediate effect.
Hurd said: “Britishvolt provided a significant opportunity to create jobs and employment, as well as support the development of technology and infrastructure needed to help with the UK’s energy transition. It is disappointing that the company has been unable to fulfil its ambitions and secure the equity funding needed to continue.
“Our priorities as joint administrators are now to protect the interests of the company’s creditors, explore options for a sale of the business and assets, and to support the impacted employees.”
