Post by Baron von Lotsov on Nov 21, 2022 2:13:16 GMT
This is the name of the £2.6bn so-called Giga factory for aiding Britain to become "A world leader in green technologies". It was the brainchild of Boris Johnson, but things are not so good there.
Britishvolt is a UK startup manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries for the automotive industry. It began construction of a gigafactory in northeast England in 2021, but work was halted in August 2022 amid funding difficulties, with battery manufacturing now not due to start until mid-2025.
History
Britishvolt was incorporated as Power by Britishvolt Ltd in December 2019.[3] Its cofounders included Swedish former investment banker Orral Nadjari[4] and Swedish automotive entrepreneur Lars Carlstrom.[5] Carlstrom quit as Britishvolt's chairman in December 2020 after details of a tax fraud conviction in Sweden were revealed.[6] US billionaire William Harrison is a shareholder through Cathexis Holdings; Harrison also owns the contractor ISG, which is leading construction of Britishvolt's factory.[7]
Britishvolt rents a serviced office in London's Mayfair district and Newfield House, a mansion east of the Northumberland town of Blyth, used as office space. The company also has a team in Canada led by former Quebec premier Philippe Couillard.[7]
History
Britishvolt was incorporated as Power by Britishvolt Ltd in December 2019.[3] Its cofounders included Swedish former investment banker Orral Nadjari[4] and Swedish automotive entrepreneur Lars Carlstrom.[5] Carlstrom quit as Britishvolt's chairman in December 2020 after details of a tax fraud conviction in Sweden were revealed.[6] US billionaire William Harrison is a shareholder through Cathexis Holdings; Harrison also owns the contractor ISG, which is leading construction of Britishvolt's factory.[7]
Britishvolt rents a serviced office in London's Mayfair district and Newfield House, a mansion east of the Northumberland town of Blyth, used as office space. The company also has a team in Canada led by former Quebec premier Philippe Couillard.[7]
You can read the rest of the financial history in the link.
trouble really hit after the other founder resigned and took his money with him.
ISG suspended construction work at Blyth and largest shareholder Nadjari quit as CEO in August 2022 amid funding concerns
Further details can be found here:
“The project in south Wales, which is designed to put the UK in the race to be a global hub for the electrified vehicle industry, comes from Britishvolt, a start-up company founded by a Swedish automotive entrepreneur best known as a former associate of Vladimir Antonov, the jailed Russian businessman.
The Secretary of State for Wales Simon Hart said it was “fantastic that we can talk about Wales as being a leading contender” for the UK’s first gigafactory.
However investigations by our journalists at Companies House and elsewhere, reveal that a major director of Britishvolt is Couroush Alai who was until recently living in a modest flat at Lily Street in Cardiff, which appears to be a terraced house converted into flats.
Contractor says it will get back onsite when designs for the 95-hectare scheme are “finalised”
ISG has paused work on a car battery gigafactory in Northumberland while designs for the scheme are “finalised”.
The factory, which is being built for manufacturer Britishvolt near Cambois, is a flagship project for Boris Johnson’s levelling up policy but has been reported to have been put on “life support” to save costs.
Work on the 95-ha site has been drastically limited until February while the next round of funding and key power supply infrastructure is secured, documents leaked to the Guardian have suggested.
ISG said it is now “pausing works on-site while the design is finalised and remain a committed and passionate partner in this transformative scheme for the people of Northumberland.”
The firm added that it had completed scheduled phases of work and both itself and its supply chain had been paid in line with the development plan to date.
“We continue to collaborate closely with our client to facilitate a dynamic project that enables flexibility to the site’s core design in alignment with evolving advancements in battery technology,” an ISG spokesperson said.
The leaked documents also discuss “mitigations…to deal with immature design and design release delays” ahead of an investor contract due next month, according to the Guardian.
The documents were dated two days before business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng announced funding of £100m for the scheme.
ISG has paused work on a car battery gigafactory in Northumberland while designs for the scheme are “finalised”.
The factory, which is being built for manufacturer Britishvolt near Cambois, is a flagship project for Boris Johnson’s levelling up policy but has been reported to have been put on “life support” to save costs.
Work on the 95-ha site has been drastically limited until February while the next round of funding and key power supply infrastructure is secured, documents leaked to the Guardian have suggested.
ISG said it is now “pausing works on-site while the design is finalised and remain a committed and passionate partner in this transformative scheme for the people of Northumberland.”
The firm added that it had completed scheduled phases of work and both itself and its supply chain had been paid in line with the development plan to date.
“We continue to collaborate closely with our client to facilitate a dynamic project that enables flexibility to the site’s core design in alignment with evolving advancements in battery technology,” an ISG spokesperson said.
The leaked documents also discuss “mitigations…to deal with immature design and design release delays” ahead of an investor contract due next month, according to the Guardian.
The documents were dated two days before business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng announced funding of £100m for the scheme.
Now if that were not all bad enough. I found even more concerning stuff. The chief scientist is virtually fresh off a PhD course from Loughborough Uni which finished in 2019. It's even more concerning when one digs a little deeper and finds out none of her studies relate to battery technology, not even the undergraduate course as far as is reported here, which looks like hugely over-detailed.
Here's that director girl mentioned earlier in the papers.
You can pick up other profiles connected to the firm from the RH list.
I've seen enough clowns for oner day. How not to run a company eh?
