Britishvolt has signed a Memorandum of Understanding [MoU] with BTR for the supply of synthetic graphite and silicon oxide to be used in selected phases of its battery manufacturing processes.
The anode material will be produced using renewable energy and is aligned with the company’s desire to select the very best materials and develop partnerships with world class suppliers.
BTR plans to build a sustainable manufacturing footprint in Europe that will, not only, bring the production of these materials closer to the Britishvolt Gigaplant in Northeast England, but also reduce embedded carbon in Britishvolt’s supply chain and utilise base materials from upstream supply chains in the UK.
Timon Orlob, Global Chief Operating officer, Britishvolt: “I am delighted to announce this partnership with one of the industry’s very best suppliers. Not only do we benefit from the technical expertise of BTR, now and in the future, but we also benefit from their global strategy concerning their manufacturing location and up- stream material plans. We were always committed to shape global supply chains, and with this collaboration with BTR we are achieving that.”
Security of supply remains a hot topic, and the news follows other strategic agreements made by the battery cell manufacturer. Graphite production is hugely energy intensive, much like the bulk of the battery manufacturing industry, and it is essential to use renewable energy to produce batteries that are truly sustainable and low carbon.
Britishvolt has already signed MoUs with four separate OEMs, including Lotus and Aston Martin, which have cumulative demand in excess of 6GWh in 2025, and set the stage for the full 38GWh factory capacity that will be supplied annually from its Gigaplant site in Northumberland.
Britishvolt have already developed successful A Samples and is scaling up its unique cell formulations at UKBIC in Coventry and will also have its own scale up facilities from 2023 at Hams Hall in the Midlands, UK.
Release of official A-sample battery cells to customers, which is scheduled in 2022, will help to further accelerate commitments.
Image courtesy of Britishvolt.
