Lavery says Recharge and Northumberland County Council need to talk

Ian Lavery, Labor MP for Wansbeck, says talks between the new Australian owners and Northumberland County Council have stalled, jeopardizing future plans that could create 9,000 jobs.

Britishvolt had big ambitions to build a nearly £4 billion battery plant in Cambois and had high hopes for the start-up but never managed to secure enough money for the project.

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Earlier this year, Recharge Industries was selected by Britishvolt’s auditors as the preferred bidder to take over the bulk of the business. David Collard, Founder of Recharge Industries, said: “We are delighted to be moving forward with our proposed bid for Britishvolt” “We can’t wait to begin realizing our plans to build the UK’s first gigafactory.”

This is what the Britishvolt page should look like

Recharge, which was founded in 2022, is hoping to build its own gigafactory near Melbourne, Australia, but the company is still in the early stages of the project.

Mr Lavery told the House of Commons: “Recharge Industries, the organization that bought Britishvolt, is looking to build a gigafactory on the Britishvolt site in Cambois, in my constituency.”

“However, there is a major issue with Northumberland County Council over a proposed buyback proposal for the proposed Gigafactory site.

“Would the Minister please step in to facilitate discussions between all parties and ensure that we are not let down again at the Cambois site and that Recharge Industries has all the government support it needs to build this gigafactory and bring 9,000 jobs to the North?” East?

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Nusrat Ghani, Minister of State (Department of Economy and Trade) replied: “We are delighted that Britishvolt has been successfully acquired. We know that investment fosters quality jobs in emerging industries and we are committed to ensuring the UK remains one of the best locations.

“We look forward to learning more about Recharge Industries’ plans and continue to work closely with the local authority – this is not a government decision – to ensure the best outcome for the site.”

The minister said she would “do her best” to help and offered Mr Lavery a meeting for a briefing.

A spokesman for Northumberland County Council said: “We continue to work closely with representatives of Recharge on a range of financial and legal matters relating to this significant transaction and investment in our county.”

“The future prosperity of this location is critical to us as a community, as well as to the region, county as a whole, and the Northeast Region.”