Battery manufacturer Britishvolt has signed a Memorandum of Understanding [MoU] with China-based BTR for the supply of synthetic graphite and silicon oxide to be used in selected phases of Britishvolt’s battery manufacturing processes.

This announcement follows on from Britishvolt’s securing a portion of its cobalt requirements from strategic partner Glencore and the recent announcement of a JV with Indonesia’s VKTR for nickel sulfate.

The anode material will be produced using renewable energy and is aligned with the company’s desire to select the 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 utilize base materials from upstream supply chains in the UK.

Graphite production is 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 6 GWh in 2025, and set the stage for the full 38 GWh factory capacity that will be supplied annually from its Gigaplant site in Northumberland.

Britishvolt has 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.