Battery start-up Britishvolt has acknowledged investment challenges but confirmed it has secured short term investment it needs to survive the coming "weeks".
The firm, which has ambitions to set up a gigfactory at Cambois employing 3,000 people, said some 300 staff had voluntarily agreed to a wage reduction in November, in a bid to stem costs. It comes as International Trade Secretary, in the region for this week's Green Trade Expo, answered questions about the Government's support for the project.
In a statement from Britishvolt, the firm said it continued to explore both short and long-term funding streams that would enable it to deliver on the ambitious £3.8bn plans in Northumberland. It said: "While the weakening economic situation is negatively impacting much business investment at present, at Britishvolt we are continuing to pursue positive ongoing discussions with potential investors.
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"In addition, we have also received promising approaches from several more international investors in the past few days.
"The result is we have now secured the necessary near-term investment that we believe enables us to bridge over the coming weeks to a more secure funding position for the future. To further reduce our near-term costs, our dedicated employee team has also voluntarily agreed to a temporary salary reduction for the month of November.
"We want to thank our employees, suppliers and investors, for their continuing belief in Britishvolt. It is important that Britishvolt is a success not only for the close to 300 employees currently working for the company, but also for the many thousands of jobs we intend to create in the UK as we progress our plans. The “Britishvolt effect” is also of huge strategic importance to UK plc and the country’s standing on the global battery stage."
Britishvolt - which was only formed at the end of 2019 - hopes to produce more than 300,000 lithium-ion batteries a year on the site of the former coal yards of the old Blyth Power Station. The firm has several memorandums of agreement with car makers to supply its batteries - but has yet to secure final deals.
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