Britishvolt in battery partnerships with UK carmakers Lotus, Aston Martin

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Electric vehicle (EV) battery startup Britishvolt is to develop high-performance batteries with Aston Martin as the British luxury carmaker gears up to launch its first fully electric vehicle in 2025, the two companies said on Monday.

A joint research and development team from fictional secret agent James Bond’s car brand and the battery company will design and develop battery packs and a battery management system.

Aston Martin is the second carmaker customer for Britishvolt, which has also entered a battery partnership with Britain’s Lotus. The company is developing alternatives to the internal combustion engine.

Continuing its electrification roadmap, Aston Martin’s first plug-in hybrid – the mid-engine supercar Valhalla – will commence deliveries in early 2024. By 2026, all new product lines of the company are planned to have an electrified powertrain option, with a target for its core portfolio to be fully electrified by 2030.

“Working together with Britishvolt, I believe we can create new technologies to power benchmark-setting Aston Martin electric cars that will match our reputation for high performance and ultra-luxury with the highest standards of sustainability,” Aston Martin Chief Executive Tobias Moers said in a statement.

Last month Britishvolt launched a Series C funding round with a starting investment of 40 million pounds ($53 million) from mining giant Glencore. In January, the company signed a Memorandum of Understanding [MoU] with British performance car manufacturer Lotus to demonstrate its advanced lithium-ion battery cells, aiming to provide optimum performance and differentiation. It has also secured UK government backing for a battery plant project in northern England, unlocking 1.7 billion pounds in private funding.

When the 3.8 billion pound, 45 GWh Blythe plant is fully operational in 2027, it should be able to produce battery packs for more than 450,000 electric vehicles per year.

“The collaboration with Britishvolt is complementary to Aston Martin’s strategic technology agreement with Mercedes-Benz AG. Any investment will be funded by existing capital expenditure commitments to developing electric vehicles,” said the statement.