Campaigners calling for more electric vehicles set to visit site of Northumberland gigafactory

An artist impression of how the Britishvolt gigafactory will look once completed.

Electric vehicle drivers from Europe and the UK on ‘The Electric Road to COP26’ are visiting leading companies that are providing solutions to help combat climate change through their innovative work with electric vehicles and charging.

And at their final stop tomorrow (Saturday) on their way to the conference in Glasgow, they will be visiting the Britishvolt site in Cambois.

Work on the site started in September and once complete the facility will produce low carbon, sustainable battery cells initially for electric vehicles.

At COP26, campaigners will be calling for all sales of new cars and light duty vans to have a plug by 2030 and to be 100% zero emission by 2035 at the latest in the 28 countries represented in the Global EV Drivers’ Alliance (GEVA).

Quentin Willson, motoring journalist: “This is a hugely exciting moment in time, we are clearly at the tipping point of EV adoption.

"The tectonic plates are shifting. The road trip highlights the sheer excitement leading the UK on the roadmap to a sustainable future.”

Cllr Glen Sanderson, Leader of Northumberland County Council: "Tackling climate change is an absolute priority for the council and we welcome all activities which put a green and sustainable future in the spotlight.

"We've been working closely with BritishVolt and are delighted at their support for the county – with thousands of jobs in the pipeline and billions of pounds of investment, this is such a good news story for Northumberland.

"It's a great opportunity ahead of COP26 to think about things we can all do around climate change."

Ian Levy, Blyth Valley MP, said: “Blyth Valley is at the forefront of the green industrial revolution.

“The employment opportunities for local people are also fantastic with Britishvolt at the centre of an economic transformation that is unprecedented in Northumberland.

“We must take these opportunities for both current and future generations, and I will continue to support Blyth Valley’s world leading role in climate change mitigation.”

Simultaneously a few miles away at Blyth Battery, members of the public can sign up for test drives of electric cars with Octopus Electric Vehicles and meet motoring journalist Quentin Willson.