Britishvolt secures investment from shipping firm in the aim to decarbonize marine industry

The company, which is building a £1.6billion gigaplant in Cambois, has received investment from Monaco-based Scorpio Group.

Britishvolt, which has secured £100million investment from the Government, has already secured deals with car manufacturers Aston Martin and Lotus to provide batteries for their vehicles.

The new deal with Scorpio comes at a time when the maritime sector is searching for new fuels and propulsion systems in the "Wave to Zero”.

Kasra Pezeshki, Britishvolt’s chief investment officer, said: “The investment by Scorpio is a clear endorsement of Britishvolt’s vision for 2050, whereby not only electric vehicles adopt our low carbon, sustainable battery cell capacity but also maritime and aviation.

“These more polluting, heavy duty, modes of transport need to look at best solutions for lowering emissions.

"Britishvolt batteries can play an integral part in that.”

Filippo Lauro, vice-president of Scorpio Group, said: “Scorpio is delighted to have the opportunity to invest in the exciting next phase of growth for Britishvolt.

"The battery pioneer’s leadership position and access to the UK’s cutting edge scientific community ensure that we will be able to work together to further accelerate green-propulsion and potentially power storage solutions for maritime.”

David Morant, managing director at Scorpio UK, said: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to invest with Britishvolt founder, Orral Nadjari, and his world-class team.

"The UK is a seafaring nation and also a world leader in battery and maritime innovation.

"This partnership will further solidify that leadership.

"The Scorpio Group looks forward to building on its decades of maritime innovation together with Britishvolt.”

Orral Nadjari, founder and CEO, Britishvolt, said: “Britishvolt will be a leader in the most important race facing humanity and our planet – the race to carbon net zero. Or in this case “wave to zero”.

"We will be a positive force not just for our customers in helping them to achieve their decarbonisation goals, but also to those in the communities where we and our suppliers operate, ensuring that they too have a brighter future.

"The time has come to transition from fossil fuels to clean, renewable, low carbon electricity. The world deserves a clean air future for all. This is our mission at Britishvolt.”