Driving on with success as Britishvolt secure major contract

The two companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding [MoU] to create tailormade battery cells.

The partnership will focus on the co-development of an innovative new battery cell package to power the next generation of electric sports cars from Lotus.

The package is set to feature in a new sports car, powered by Britishvolt cells and utilising advanced electric propulsion technologies developed by Lotus.

Officials say the collaboration with Britishvolt is another significant development in the ongoing transformation of Lotus, following 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.

Oliver Jones, chief commercial officer at Britishvolt, said: “Britishvolt is excited to be working with such a prestigious and highly acclaimed OEM as Lotus.

"This MoU demonstrates that the legacy one-size-fits-all cell strategy is no longer valid in the rapidly developing electric mobility market.

"It also reinforces Britishvolt’s differentiation strategy of close customer intimacy and partnering to fully optimize battery solutions and enable the differentiation so important to these iconic brands & products.”

Matt Windle, Lotus Cars managing director, said: “Lotus is delighted to be collaborating with Britishvolt to develop new battery cell technology to showcase the thrilling performance that a Lotus EV sports car can deliver.

"These are the first exciting steps on the journey towards an all-new electric sports car from Lotus.

"Last year we committed Lotus to a pure electric future, and in the first month of this year we announce another significant step on that journey.

"In the coming months we will be unveiling the Type 132, an all-new and all-electric Lotus SUV and we’ve confirmed three more EVs are on the way.”

According to Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) research, by 2030 the UK will need over 90GWh per annum of batteries for cars and light commercials alone which represents over 11 per cent of the total demand across Europe.

Britishvolt’s gigaplant at Cambois will create thousands of highly-skilled jobs, regenerating a site that was previously home to the UK’s largest coal-fired power station.

Earlier this month, the Government announced financial support for the project, believed to be £100million.