Monday 31 January 2022
Britishvolt and Lotus partner to develop batteries for electric sports car
Britishvolt and Lotus have signed an agreement to work together on the research and development of batteries to power the next generation of the latter company's electric sports car.
They will focus on the co-development of an innovative new battery cell package for the future EV sports car, featuring Britishvolt's cells and advanced electric propulsion technologies developed by Lotus.
The announcement follows a £100 million investment by Lotus in its UK facilities, which includes manufacturing centres at Hethel for the Evija all-electric hypercar and Emira sports car.
All future Lotus cars will be all-electric and inspired by the Evija, deliveries of which will start this year.
Matt Windle, Managing Director, Lotus Cars 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 and yet another step towards the transformation towards sustainable, renewable electricity stored in batteries.”
Britishvolt recently secured backing from the UK Government for its planned battery plant in northern England and announced a major partnership with the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) to scale up next generation battery cell technologies.
Oliver Jones, Chief Commercial Officer at Britishvolt added: “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 This MoU demonstrates that the legacy one-size-fits-all cell strategy is no longer valid in the rapidly developing electric mobility market.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 optimise battery solutions and enable the differentiation so important to these iconic brands & products.
“As in Formula 1, this high-performance research and development will ultimately cascade down to influence the electro chemistries of more affordable batteries and EVs.”
