BRIT CEO SAYS BREXIT 'EXCELLENT' FOR FIRM AS UK'S FIRST GIGAFACTORY CAN FACILITATE TESLA

Battery technology firm Britishvolt is currently constructing Britain's first gigafactory in Blyth, Northumberland, after raising £1.7billion in funding. Once finished, it will produce over 300,000 electric battery packs a year, with a total capacity of over 38 GWh by the end of the decade. As carmakers around the world gradually switch their fleets to electric vehicles, the establishment of a major battery manufacturing facility in the UK could revive Britain's automotive industry.

Speaking to Express.co.uk, Orral Nadjari, the CEO of Britishvolt, hailed Brexit as one of the reasons for his company's success.

While many major companies began leaving the UK after Brexit, Mr Nadjari was confident in backing Britain.

He said: "Things like Brexit, recessions, inflation - these are cycles.

"Decades ago we voted to be part of the EU, and now we have voted to leave. It is not for Britishvolt to judge which is right.

"But what we do see when we look back on these trends is Her Majesty's Government always manages to reinvent itself.

"There's a reason why the pound is one of the strongest currencies in the world, it's called the Sterling."

Mr Nadjari noted that while foreign investment in the UK was plummeting, Britishvolt saw a major opportunity.

He said: "When it comes to Brexit, Britishvolt was founded in 2019 and Isobel Sheldon (the company's Chief Strategy Officer) was hired in 2020 - before we had the Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU.

"At that point in time, everyone was leaving the UK. You could see the foreign investment numbers plummeted.

"Britishvolt decided to stay and was a contributor in 2021 and became a major contributor in 2021.

"We are now leading that electrification technology in the UK."

Most recently, it was reported that Elon Musk was primed to invest in the UK as Britishvolt is looking to produce batteries similar to the ones used by Tesla.

Earlier this month, it was also reported that Tesla would be using denser "4680 format" cells to power all of their future electric vehicles - including the angular-looking Cybertruck.

Britishvolt is also looking to focus on high-performance vehicles such as those manufactured by Aston Martin and Lotus - both of whom have signed up as future customers.

Mr Nadjari continued: "Brexit, for us, has allowed us to be the one (in the UK), rather than being one of many in Europe.

"That has made us the company of choice for many and made it easier for investors.

"All in all, for Britishvolt, Brexit has been excellent, it has allowed us to potentially become the next energy champion of the UK."

Britishvolt has also announced that it will build a £200million battery scale-up facilities in the West Midlands, which will create new cell formats to help make "higher performance, production-ready and cheaper batteries for EVs".

They believe that this facility, combined with the gigafactory, could help incentivise more carmakers to set up shop in the UK.

Additional reporting by Callum Hoare.

2022-06-26T08:38:23Z dg43tfdfdgfd