January 24, 2022 05:01 AM

Britishvolt to develop range-extending high-nickel EV batteries

Electric vehicle battery startup Britishvolt will work with a UK government-backed research facility to develop batteries with high nickel content and more energy-dense materials as it gears up for mass production.

BRITISHVOLT

Britishvolt has released images of what its UK plant might look like.

LONDON -- Electric vehicle battery startup Britishvolt said it has signed an agreement with a UK government-backed research facility to develop batteries with high nickel content and more energy-dense materials as it gears up for mass production.

Demand for nickel is expected to jump over the next decade as EVs go mainstream. Nickel bolsters energy storage in a battery's cathode, which in turn extends an EV's range.

The auto industry is scrambling to boost EV range with large investments in research into more energy-dense batteries.

In a statement Britishvolt said it has reached a two-year, multi-million-pound agreement with the UK Battery Industrialization Centre (UKBIC) to develop, assemble its next generation of sample battery cells for mass production and commercialization.

Britishvolt's Gigafactory in Numbers

Work will start in the fourth quarter of 2023 and finish in 2027
Constructing the factory will provide 3,000 jobs with 5,000 more in the supply chain
From 2027, the facility will produce enough cells for 300,000 EV battery packs a year

The UKBIC is a government-funded facility formed to help the British car industry bring new battery technologies to market.

Britishvolt said on Friday it had secured UK government backing for its planned battery plant in northern England, unlocking 1.7 billion pounds ($2.31 billion) in private funding.

The startup's 30 gigawatt-hour (GWh) plant in Blyth should start production in 2023. It will be built in three phases and when it reaches peak production in 2027 should be capable of producing battery packs for over 300,000 vehicles annually.