Britishvolt £3.8bn gigafactory to push back production until mid-2025
Electric vehicle battery startup Britishvolt will not deliver any products from its £3.8bn gigafactory for another three years, its co-founder has said today.
The gigafactory, which began construction last summer, had initially been anticipated to start battery production in late 2023.
“The main facility will be delayed slightly into mid-2025,” former CEO Orral Nadjari told the Financial Times. “It does go hand-in-hand with the fact that we have inflation, we have recession and we have geopolitical uncertainties.”
Nadjari, who help establish Britishvolt just three years ago and is the largest shareholder, handed over the reins as CEO to former Ford chairman Dr Grahan Hoare OBE just last week.
In the announcement of his exit, the former banker said that “now is the right time” despite the challenges facing the group.
Britishvolt, despite not yet issuing a product onto the market, has sought to blossom the UK’s electric vehicle manufacturing industry, having inked deals with Aston Martin and Lotus.
The startup was reportedly mulling a London listing just last year.
The group is also seeking £1.5bn at its latest fundraiser, instead of the initial £1.7bn, according to the report, which cited people familiar with the matter. Although this remains higher than the £800m it received in its previous investment round.