Britishvolt, an investor in battery cell technologies, said it hopes to raise £200mln in a new round of funding to develop its UK gigafactory.
The series C fundraising, which was open to existing and institutional investors, is to generate funds to further develop the company's Northumberland gigaplant site as well as expand the company’s research and development capabilities.
Glencore PLC (LSE:GLEN), the FTSE 100-listed producer, supplier and recycler of metals, has committed to invest £40mln in this round, building on its participation in previous fundraising series.
“We are increasingly excited by the number of potential growth and investment opportunities available to the business,” said chief investment officer Kasra Pezeshki.
“Our interactions with the capital markets, and customers, show that demand for low-carbon, responsibly-manufactured batteries is rapidly growing day by day.”
Glencore’s investment adds to the existing partnership with the two companies working on a joint venture to build a 10,000 tonnes per year capacity battery recycling plant and a supply agreement for Britishvolt to source a percentage of its cobalt from Glencore.
Britishvolt said it signed memorandums of understanding with four manufacturers with a cumulative demand of 7GWh in 2024 and 2025, which is aligned to the company’s start of production.
It also says the release of an official sample battery cell to partners is scheduled for 2022, which it believes will accelerate further commitments.