Britishvolt says it hopes to produce batteries for a range of heavy plant equipment - adding to its plans to supply the automotive and marine sectors.
The company, which is building the 38GWh gigafactory at Cambois in Northumberland, has agreed a strategic partnerships with Sunbelt Rentals - a firm that specialises in industrial equipment.
The move means the two firms will work together on batteries designed to de-carbonise the construction and equipment rental sectors via electrification.
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Tom Cowling, chief governance officer at Britishvolt, said: “Britishvolt’s cutting edge battery cell technology developments, tailor-made approach to customer requirements and ability to deliver battery solutions at volume, is the differentiator that sparked the initial interest from Sunbelt resulting in this exciting partnership.
"The fact that Britishvolt and Sunbelt will jointly operate an 'onsite rental facility' is a huge boost to our ESG strategy and brings with it 'economies of carbon' as it will dramatically reduce the construction supply chain carbon footprint.”
Andy Wright, CEO of Sunbelt Rentals: “There is an increasing market demand for alternative powered equipment to support our varied customer base across multiple sectors. This latest partnership is going to enable us to service that demand in the future."
“This is an exciting opportunity for Sunbelt Rentals to support the future of green energy. Britishvolt is striving towards the same ambition for positive environmental change as we are, they aim to accelerate the electrification of society, to deliver sustainable, low-carbon batteries on the roadmap to decarbonisation.
"This is more than just a commercial collaboration, it’s an opportunity for us to support an important part of the future of renewable energy in the UK. We are looking forward to working with Britishvolt and delivering on our shared vision for a greener future.”
Earlier this week Britishvolt announced it was partnering with commercial property specialist Prologis to build a multimillion pound, 260,000 sq ft factory at Hams Hall park near Birmingham, creating and sustaining in excess of 150 skilled tech jobs.
And prior to that, the firm announced a share purchase agreement with Monbat Group to acquire its German battery cell developer EAS for €36m (£30.8m). Nordhausen-based EAS is a pioneer in developing and producing large format lithium-ion cells using innovative and compact electrode production technology.
Work is under way at Cambois to ready Britishvolt's new gigafactory on the site of the former Blyth Power Station coal yards. The plant is expected to create 3,000 direct jobs and another 5,000 through its supply chain once it opens in 2024.
The company – which secured “tens of millions” in funding from the Government – has so far signed memorandums of understanding with Lotus Cars and Aston Martin to develop electric vehicles powered by Britishvolt cells, and has also secured undisclosed investment from Monaco-based Scorpio, to explore battery power solutions for the maritime industry.
