UK battery start-up Britishvolt is launching a Series C fundraiser targeting around £200 million ($270.86m), with Glencore kickstarting the round with a fresh £40m investment in the company, Kallanish reports.

The fundraiser will be offered to both existing and new institutional and strategic investors, led by BofA Securities, Citibank Global Markets and Peel Hunt. Lazard will act as the financial advisor for Britishvolt.

The new investment round will enable further development of the £3.8 billion Northumberland gigafactory site and expand R&D capability through a dedicated pilot facility and R&D centre. It follows a £1.7 billion private capital deal for the construction of the shell and core of its 30-gigawatt-hour plant, alongside £100m funding from the UK government.

“We are increasingly excited by the number of potential growth and investment opportunities available to the business,” Kasra Pezeshki, chief investment officer at Britishvolt said Tuesday. “Our interactions with the capital markets, and customers, show that demand for low-carbon responsibly-manufactured batteries is rapidly growing day by day.”

Glencore is a strategic partner to Britishvolt. The Anglo-Swiss company has already invested in previous funding rounds, will supply cobalt to the battery manufacturer and plans to build recycling capacity through a joint venture with Britishvolt. The latest investment commitment strengthens their ties.

Britishvolt expects to deliver its first official A-sample battery cells to partners this year, which in turn should help accelerate offtake agreement with customers. To date, it has interest from four OEMs covering a total of 7 GWh demand in 2024 and 2025. This potential supply is aligned with the company’s start of production and ramp-up.