Recharge Industries, an emerging Australian company under New York-based investment firm Scale Facilitation, has been chosen as the preferred bidder by the administrator EY, to acquire the collapsed British battery maker, Britishvolt. The acquisition is expected to happen over the next seven days.

The deal, which is yet to be finalized, includes reviving plans to build a GBP 3.8 billion (~ USD 6.7 billion) 30GWh "gigafactory" in the north of England, employing about 3,000 workers when operating at full capacity.

Upon completion of the acquisition, Recharge will reportedly make batteries using Australian minerals, US technology from American lithium-iron battery developer C4V, and British manufacturing, representing the same three countries in the Aukus trilateral security pact. Recharge is also claimed to be planning to build batteries for defense industries, as a result of its management team including personnel with military backgrounds. 

Analyst QuickTake: This announcement follows Recharge’s non-binding, preliminary takeover bid on Britishvolt on 24th of January 2023 , after Britishvolt’s decision to file for administration on 17th January 2023 .