RIYADH: Anglo-Swiss multinational commodity trading and mining company Glencore Plc will inject GBP40 million ($54 million) in UK based battery manufacturing firm Britishvolt as it aims to establish the first large-scale electric vehicle, or EV, facility in the UK, Bloomberg reported.
“Our interactions with the capital markets, and customers, show that demand for low-carbon, responsibly-manufactured batteries is rapidly growing day by day,” Bloomberg reported, citing Britishvolt chief investment officer Kasra Pezeshki.
The investment by Glencore comes as part of the battery manufacturer’s GBP200-million Series C fund, which is led by the US-based investment bank, also known as Bank of America.
The company said the fund will be used to propel the launch of the factory, which is set to open in 2023. The facility aims to produce a sufficient number of cells to cater to an estimated 300,000 EVs per year.
This comes as Britain is set to ban sales of new gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles by 2030.