Construction has commenced on BritishVolt’s multi-million-pound lithium-ion gigaplant in Northumberland on what was previously the site of Blyth Power Station’s coal stocking site in Cambois.
The plant, due to be the UK’s first lithium-ion gigaplant, will have a capacity to produce 300,000 electric vehicle battery packs a year for the rapidly growing electric vehicle industry, reports The Manufacturer.
The plans for the Northumberland gigaplant have been approved by the country council, who described the plans as a ‘game changer’. Council leader Glen Sanderson said the investment would place the area back on the map.
He added that BritishVolt’s decision to choose Northumberland proves what the country had to offer in terms of location, facilities, an ambitious council, and significantly, its workforce.
Chairman of BritishVolt, Peter Rolton, said that the multi-million-pound gigaplant will provide the area with much-needed employment. The first phase of the facility is due to be operation by 2023, and at full capacity by 2028.
The £2.6 billion gigaplant is the largest investment into the North east since the arrival of car giant Nissan in 1984, one of the biggest ever industrial investments in the UK.
The announcement came just a few days after Nissan revealed their plans for a battery gigafactory for electric vehicles, offering more than 1,500 jobs.
The Britishvolt’s multi-million gigaplant will be constructed on the 95-hectare Blyth Power Station site and will use renewable energy, comprising of the potential to use hydro-electric power generated in Norway and transmitted 447 miles under the North Sea through the world’s longest inter-connector from the North Sea Link project.
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