Britishvolt & Lotus sign MoU to collaborate on next generation battery cells specific to Lotus requirements

• Britishvolt is delighted to announce that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding [MoU] with British performance car manufacturer Lotus to demonstrate Britishvolt’s advanced lithium-ion battery cells, tailored to provide optimum performance and differentiation to support Lotus’ target brand attributes and vehicle performance objectives.
• The companies will collaborate on integrating cell formats and chemistry that provide enhanced energy density and power capability, fast-charging and other specifications; this perfectly highlights Britishvolt’s business model of tailoring cells to meet the exacting requirements of its automaker customers on the roadmap to electrification.
• The partnership will see Britishvolt and Lotus develop a Lotus electric vehicle, powered by Britishvolt cells and with advanced electric propulsion technologies developed by Lotus.
• As in Formula 1, this high-performance research and development will ultimately cascade down to influence the electro chemistries of more affordable batteries and EVs.
• HM Government announced January 21 their support for Britishvolt via an in principle offer of funding made through the Automotive Transformation Fund. This enabled a long-term partnership with Tritax and abrdn that will deliver £1.7bn in private funding. This historic investment will help propel the UK’s successful energy transition on the road to zero.
• Britishvolt’s planned Gigaplant in Northumberland aligns with the Government’s ambition to level-up the Northeast, protect the UK’s national automotive sector and put Britain at the centre of the global battery industry.

Development work on the project will benefit from the close proximity of Lotus and Britishvolt’s R&D centres of excellence in the West Midlands, the UK’s ‘golden triangle’ of battery development. The Lotus Advanced Technology Centre (LATC) opened in Wellesbourne in 2020 as the global headquarters of Lotus Engineering, the consultancy division of the business.

The collaboration with Britishvolt is another significant development in the ongoing transformation of Lotus, from a UK sports car company to a global and all-electric performance car business and brand. It follows a £100m investment by Lotus in its UK facilities, which includes manufacturing centres at Hethel for the Evija pure electric hypercar and Emira sports car – future-proofing the world-renowned and innovative UK high-performance auto sector and the thousands of jobs that it supports.

Oliver Jones, Chief Commercial Officer, Britishvolt

Matt Windle, Lotus Cars Managing Director

According to Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) research, based on its unique relationships with vehicle manufacturers, by 2030 the UK will need over 90GWh per annum of batteries for cars and light commercials alone which represents over 11% of the total demand across Europe.

The UK offers an extremely competitive landscape for investment in the full research, development and manufacturing ecosystem for electric vehicle technologies.

It also underscores the Government’s ambitions, following recent news

that it is backing Britishvolt via the Automotive Transformation Fund, for the UK to be a world leader in the battery industry, having already established a unique and impressive ecosystem including WMG, University of Warwick, Advanced Propulsion Centre, The Faraday Institution and UK Battery Industrialistion Centre.

Britishvolt’s Gigaplant will create thousands of highly-skilled jobs, regenerating a site that was previously home to the UK’s largest coal-fired power station. This is true transformation, unlocked by the government’s commitment to support green growth and levelling-up.

Britishvolt is on target to responsibly manufacture some of the world’s most sustainable, low carbon, battery cells on the site of the former Blyth Power Station in Cambois, Northumberland.

HM Government announced January 21 their support for Britishvolt in an in principle offer of funding made through the Automotive Transformation Fund, via the Advanced Propulsion Centre. This enabled a long-term partnership with Tritax and abrdn that will deliver £1.7bn in private funding to build the Gigaplant shell and core.

The development is a major boost for Northumberland and Britain and will bring around 3,000 direct highly-skilled jobs and another 5,000+ in the associated supply chains.

Advanced works started on the site in September 2021, following a unanimous planning decision approval.

The project will be built in phases, to keep up with technology advancements, and will have a total capacity of over 30GWh by the end of the decade.

At capacity, the Gigaplant will produce enough cells for over 300,000 electric vehicle battery packs per year, intended primarily for the automotive industry.

It will be the first large full cycle Gigaplant in the UK.

Britishvolt believes that locally produced, low carbon, sustainable, responsibly manufactured battery cells can literally help save the planet. The time has come to transition from fossil fuels to clean, renewable, low carbon electricity.

Britishvolt is Britain’s foremost investor in battery cell technologies and research and development. It is dedicated to developing the future of electrified transportation and sustainable energy storage, producing best-in-class, low-carbon, sustainable, responsibly manufactured lithium-ion battery technologies.

Britishvolt’s aim is to establish the UK as the leading force in battery technology, and associated ecosystem infrastructure. It is working with leading strategic partners/suppliers to achieve this, as it is of paramount importance to the future of the UK automotive industry and the overall economic and industrial health of the country. The company is built on a foundation of ESG Principles and Commitments.

Britishvolt believes that the UK is the right place for its initial investments because of the strength of its automotive and renewable energy industry alongside its expertise and history in industrial and academic battery R&D. As well as the UK Government’s foresight in creating a world-class battery ecosystem.

Quarter four 2023/early 2024 has been targeted as the start of production of Phase One of Britain’s first full-scale Gigaplant situated on the old coal stocking yard of the former Blyth Power Station in Cambois, Northumberland.

Lotus Cars is based in Hethel, Norfolk, UK, and is the global HQ for sports car and hypercar manufacturing operations, the Lotus Advanced Performance Centre and the iconic 2.2-mile test track. Lotus Cars builds world-class high-performance cars, born out of legendary success on the racetrack including 13 FIA Formula 1 world titles and many other championship honours. In July 2021 Lotus unveiled the all-new Lotus Emira, its last petrol-powered sports car and best-of-breed, and in July 2019 it launched the Evija, the world’s first all-electric British hypercar. Customer deliveries of both cars will begin during 2022.

Lotus Engineering provides comprehensive consultancy services to many of the world’s OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers. It is internationally recognised for its long-standing contribution to ground-breaking engineering and innovative vehicle development. Its expertise extends beyond automotive; in August 2021 a Lotus Engineering-developed track bike helped Team GB’s cyclists win seven medals, including three golds, at the Tokyo Olympics. An international consultancy with offices around the world, Lotus Engineering is headquartered at the Lotus Advanced Technology Centre on the University of Warwick’s Wellesbourne Campus in the UK.

Lotus Tech is the global ‘intelligent technology’ division based in Wuhan, China. Its role is to accelerate innovation in the fields of batteries and energy management, electric motors, electronic control systems, intelligent driving, intelligent manufacturing and many more. Lotus Tech will oversee the manufacture of a range of premium Lotus lifestyle electric vehicles in Wuhan starting in 2022. European operations are based at Lotus Tech Creative Centre, a state-of-the-art design studio in Coventry, UK, and Lotus Tech Innovation Centre, a world-class engineering facility in Raunheim, Germany.

Lotus Group is either the parent company of or associated with the above subsidiaries and others. Lotus Group is part of Geely Automotive, the fastest-growing automotive group in the world. Geely has a 51% controlling stake, with 49% owned by Etika Automotive, a Malaysian conglomerate.

Certain statements in this press release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements regarding our future business expectation intended to qualify for the ‘safe harbor’ under the U.S. Private Securities Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements.

The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, competition including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, equipment procurement, wage increases, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time contracts or time and material construction contracts, customer concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage international operations, reduced demand, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages related to battery service agreements, the success of the companies in which Britishvolt has made strategic partnerships, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies and unauthorised use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry. In addition, please note any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions we believe to be reasonable as of the date of this press release.