Business collapses with implications for 750,000 jobs

Yes Sky. Billionaire Andrew Forrest of Australian iron ore giant Fortescue wants to open an advanced battery plant in Kiddlington, Oxfordshire later this year. It will make batteries for heavy goods vehicles. He says the batteries will be in motorbikes, cars, trucks and even trains.

This is an interesting one. It is obvious that they needed help but didn't make their targets so didn't get the Government help which was on the table. If the Government had given them the help, can you imagine the consequences if it had still gone pear shaped! As the Government didn't given them the help, there is criticism. It seems to me that this should be an opportunity for an enterprising person to step into the breech because batteries will still be required.

Sorry it was already mentioned. It’s quite small fry really. Forrest is involved with Formula One as well.

I guess the government could still bale out BritishVolt if there is enough pressure. The plant is even built yet.

Germanshepherdsmum

Is this one for the ‘exaggerating’ thread?

NO not at all. Au contraire!

Read my post of 10:39:59 and perhaps consider apologising fp”

"leveling up" is just a Tory Party slogan - nothing more

It doesn't seem to actually mean helping a company in the NE of England which needed investment, in spite of Tory politicians actually boasting about this non-existing help.

I don't know all the details of what went wrong, but surely, if the business is actually viable, this is a case for some state investment

DH and I both said that last night.

The news was quite shocking, as this is supposedly the future. If the government declares a target of 2030 for the ban on the sale of any new petrol and diesel powered cars and 2035 for hybrids then they need to back that up with state investment.

icanhandthemback

This is an interesting one. It is obvious that they needed help but didn't make their targets so didn't get the Government help which was on the table. If the Government had given them the help, can you imagine the consequences if it had still gone pear shaped! As the Government didn't given them the help, there is criticism. It seems to me that this should be an opportunity for an enterprising person to step into the breech because batteries will still be required.

This, if a project doesn’t reach agree milestones, which they didn’t, why would the sponsor (government or not) pour money in ?

Britishvolt died because it was unproven technology without any committed customers. The company that does produce batteries is Envision which has several factories in other countries, including China, Japan, Spain, France and USA.

Oxford does not sound a great place to set up a large industrial complex, plenty of other regions need the development providing jobs.

Another much trumpeted “ Brexit opportunity “. Gone a bit quiet.

Germanshepherdsmum

Read my post of 10:39:59 and perhaps consider apologising fp”

Just when my grandson will be finishing University. I am looking ahead- we were promised 1000s of new jobs in new technology.

We'll just have suck our teeth and buy from Europe then with all the associate 'red tape/cost' that not being part of the EU brings.

In my view the problem was that the owners/management of the company that's just folded weren't Tory govt cronies. If they had been the funds would have been pouring out of the Treasury coffers.

I've driven past this site a few times a year for the last few years. It's an absolutely huge site. Development has been ongoing. House prices in the area have risen as a result. A lot of optimism in the local community, which is very poor due to the shutting of the mines. So sad.

Global investors are shunning Britain because the Government has no coherent economic plan and is failing to keep up with volcanic policy changes in the US and Europe, the head of British industry has warned.“Money is leaving the UK. Investors are freezing up and the heart of the problem is that we don’t have a strategy,” said Tony Danker, director-general of Confederation of British Industry (CBI)..

Tony Danker writing in The Telegraph..

Britishvolt died because it was unproven technology without any committed customers.

You say this with great certainty, Katie59. I can't find any confirmation of it on line. Do you have a useful link?

The CBI? 🤣🤣🤣
They always get it wrong. Big style.

I see no reason why the failure to build one factory making batteries should put the car industry in the UK at risk.

For decades car manufacturing has involved assemblying parts brought into this country from all over Europe, and sometimes further afield. There is no reason why this should not coninue.

Every six weeks are so we travel from France on the late afternoon ferry that goes from Ouistrehem to Portsmouth and every time we look for 'the cabs' and they never fail us.

'the cabs' are the outer shells for lorry cabs and, as we then overtake them later on th A34, we know they are heading for the midlands. Brexit made no difference. Anything from 20 to 60 cabs a day. Bulkier, though possibly lighter than batteries.

The failure to build one battery factory will not threaten the car industry in the UK.

All EVs will include an electric battery. Its not like the battery you have in your car today, its a large part of the assembly, as I'm sure you are all aware. If all the batteries are made somewhere else, and it costs a huge amount to import them, why would you go about setting up a factory in the UK to build your EV? Well, you wouldn't. Hence, the absence of a viable battery source in this country will depress the motor industry and potentially lead to its demise.

As for your "cabs" M0nica. The only large scale manufacturer of HGVs in the UK now is DAF. 20-60 cabs a day would be right as they manufacture about 15,000 trucks a year. Great. Until you realise that Sweden alone manufacture double that number and about half a million trucks are manufactured in the EU in a year.

Its completely wrong to say that Brexit has made no difference. My last job was in an organisation supplying to HGVs, an organisation that doesn't exist in the UK any more because Brexit made it uneconomical to be here and to export as needed.

The collapse of UK car battery start-up Britishvolt is because of Brexit, the former leader of the Conservatives Lord Hague has said.

The Tory peer blamed the UK’s decision to leave the EU for the company’s failure to secure enough private investment to develop a gigafactory in the North East to supply batteries for the UK’s electric vehicle market.

Lord Hague said the bankruptcy was “part of the damage” of Brexit, adding it was “very concerning”.

Report in today's "i" newspaper

www.express.co.uk/news/science/1723018/tesla-jlr-northvolt-britishvolt-ev-gigafactory-blyth-northumberland

This is more interesting, JLR are really struggling and making big losses in the last few years a link up with Tesla would provide the capital they need and also allow Tesla to move “upmarket”. TATA the owners of JLR will breathe a sigh of relief, the uncertainty around Musk being unpredictable is very much a caution and I won’t believe it until it happens

Katie59

www.express.co.uk/news/science/1723018/tesla-jlr-northvolt-britishvolt-ev-gigafactory-blyth-northumberland

This is more interesting, JLR are really struggling and making big losses in the last few years a link up with Tesla would provide the capital they need and also allow Tesla to move “upmarket”. TATA the owners of JLR will breathe a sigh of relief, the uncertainty around Musk being unpredictable is very much a caution and I won’t believe it until it happens

Very interesting Katie59, but where is the link that backs up your assertion that it was 'unproven technology' that caused the lack of investors?

I've also seen the quote about it being unproven technology, somewhere. I am going to have a look again this afternoon :-)

I get the impression that it is new technology, that they were trying to develop it all alone without any input from people who know about batteries, and that they couldn't get investment for many reasons.

I don't think they would have got support from the Dragons!!

Let us know.

It doesn't sound as simple as it was at first reading.