Britishvolt battery-powered electric company avoids instant meltdown with short-term financing

UK-based electric car maker British Volt said on Wednesday it had secured short-term financing, a move that would enable it to avoid management for the time being. The company said its employees also agreed to a pay cut for November.

“While the weak economic situation is negatively impacting much business investment at the moment, we at Britishvolt continue to pursue ongoing positive discussions with potential investors,” the company said in a statement sent to CNBC.

“In addition, we have also received promising approaches from several international investors in the past few days.”

“The result is that we have now secured the necessary near-term investment that we believe can enable us to bridge over the coming weeks to a more secure financing position for the future.”

“To reduce our costs in the near term even further, our dedicated team of employees has voluntarily agreed to a temporary salary cut for the month of November.”

Britishvolt is looking to build a massive plant in Northumberland, North East England. The company got support from the giant mining company Glencoreamong other things.

So-called gigafactories are facilities that produce batteries for electric vehicles on a large scale. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is widely credited as coining the term.

Britishvolt, which has drawn attention for its bullish plans, had previously said its plant would have the capacity to produce more than 300,000 EV battery packs each year.

In January this year, it said the first phase of the mega plant would start production in the fourth quarter of 2023 or the beginning of 2024.

The UK is looking to increase the number of electric cars on its way in the coming years.

The authorities want to stop selling diesel and petrol cars and vans by 2030. From 2035, they will require all zero-emission cars and vans.

The European Union, which the United Kingdom left on January 31, 2020, striving to achieve similar goals.