Australian company Recharge Industries has put together a $6.7 billion bid to takeover plans for a planned electric ‘gigafactory’ in Britain, which could make it a key supplier to electric vehicles in years to come.
Recharge Industries, which has plans for a battery factory in Geelong is reportedly in line to takeover the operations of collapsed UK battery maker, Britishvolt. The company had plans to build a 30GWh factory in Northumberland that would produce batteries for the expected demand when the UK government’s ban on petrol and diesel cars comes into effect in 2030.
However, despite the British government being willing to tip in £100m ($173m) worth of funding, Britishvolt failed to secure enough finances for the huge factory; which reportedly would have been the fourth-largest building in the UK.
Instead, Recharge Industries looks set to take control and push ahead with the factory plans, assuming it gets final approval from Britishvolt’s administrators. Crucially, the British factory would be in addition to the planned facility in Geelong.
Electric vehicle batteries are expected to increase in demand as electric cars become increasingly popular and internal combustion cars are banned in certain parts of the world. Recharge Industries is seemingly positioning itself to take on fellow ‘gigafactory’ operators including Tesla and the Ford Motor Company in this increasingly competitive space.
Britishvolt is seen in the industry as a key strategic operation as the winning takeover bidder will get control of its intellectual property as well as its key position within the UK market.
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