Australia’s Recharge Industries has bought the collapsed electric vehicle battery firm Britishvolt, which entered administration in January.
Recharge Industries, which is also a battery company, had been one of the favourites to acquire the assets of Britishvolt. Other bidders included Orral Nadjari, the original founder of Britishvolt; Tata Motors, the parent company of Jaguar Land Rover; and private investment firm Greybull.
According to Britishvolt administrator EY, the sale has been completed for an undisclosed sum. The professional services firm said the remaining employees of Britishvolt have been transferred to Recharge.
Britishvolt collapsed after failing to secure funds for its £4bn gigafactory battery plant, which was going to be located in Northumberland.
New owners Recharge have similar plans to build a factory near Melbourne. However, the hopes of a new UK-based centre for EV battery manufacturing may be far off.
Speaking to BBC News, Recharge Industries CEO David Collard said he had, however, been in talks with people in Northumberland.
“I spent a lot of time with Northumberland County Council. They genuinely want a gigafactory and the best thing for their people,” Collard said.
“I’m not saying I’m the best person in the world to run this project, but at the end of the day the administrators had a legal obligation to get the best return for creditors. But I do think they care, as individuals, what the future holds.”
Recharge Industries, which was founded in 2022, is ultimately owned and run by a New York-based investment fund called Scale Facilitation.