The boss of new Britishvolt owner Recharge Industries has set out why his company is better placed to deliver a gigaplant on the Northumberland site, saying it has lined up significant funding for the project.
David Collard, whose firm bought the failed start-up's business and assets from administrators at the end of February, has confirmed that an unnamed pension fund is in the final stages of agreeing a £2.5bn facility with Recharge and bridging finance of £60m is close to being secured with a financier. The New York-based entrepreneur gave an interview to The Australian Financial Review in which he set out reasons why he thought Britishvolt had failed.
A well understood concern was Britishvolt's lack of confirmed customers, despite some initial agreements, including with luxury car makers Lotus and Aston Martin. Recharge, which has called the gigaplant project a "massive opportunity" to develop North East skills and the supply chain, will initially focus on batteries for the energy storage market and says it already has an offtake agreement with a power company.
