Britishvolt gets £40m from Glencore in new funding round

UK startup Britishvolt on Tuesday said it would start a Series C funding round with a starting investment of £40m from mining giant Glencore.

The company, which makes batteries for electric cars, want to raise around £200m, some of which will go toward developing its planned battery factory in northern England and a research and development centre. It has so far attracted £100m.

Britishvolt has also signed deals with four carmakers with cumulative battery demand in 2024 and 2025 of 7 gigawatt hours (GWh) for its battery plant in Blyth. Last month it secured UK government backing for the £3.8bn factory, unlocking £1.7bn in private funding.

Last year Britishvolt and Glencore signed a long-term cobalt supply deal. The mining giant owns an undisclosed stake in the startup.

The two companies will also jointly develop a new UK battery recycling plant that will help reuse expensive key raw materials like cobalt and lithium.