Specialist
Executive at AutoAnalysis
Agenda
- Britishvolt’s strategic plan, funding sources and customer acquisition
- Key technical requirements in developing battery cells and Britishvolt’s relative progress
- Competitive landscape for battery suppliers, noting LG (KRX: 051910), SK (KRX: 09677), Envision, CATL (SHE: 300750) and Samsung (KRX: 005930)
- EV market demand outlook and supply chain challenges to meet growth
Questions
1.
What does the change in the UK government mean for the British EV battery sector?
2.
How important is it for Britishvolt to get additional capital from the UK government to fund its plan?
3.
Can you talk us through the production equipment that is to be installed in Britishvolt’s factory?
4.
If government funds don’t come through, what other sources of funding, if any, are available to Britishvolt?
5.
How would a gigafactory compare to other battery cell facilities that have been developed in the industry?
6.
How would a 30GW factory compare to other factories already in production?
7.
You say that Nissan’s volumes would not justify the building of a 30GW factory. What is the industry-wide problem and what do you forecast regarding potential EV volumes that will require these batteries?
8.
What was the background for the new Nissan Envision factory? How long did it take to plan, including selecting the location and size?
9.
Britishvolt announced on 7 September 2022 that its batteries passed the safety test, and the company will begin shipping cells to customers. What is the typical timeline for testing with certain customers?
10.
How do auto manufacturers typically decide what battery cell manufacturer to go with at the end of a test? Are there follow-up evaluations? What happens before actually placing an order?
11.
To be clear, you don’t believe Britishvolt is a known entity to the auto OEMs today? You gave us a list of the other companies – including LG, SK, Envision, BYD, CATL and Samsung – but you’re saying Britishvolt is trying to break in.
12.
Do people leave established companies and start new ones in the EV battery industry? Does that carry any weight with an auto manufacturer, or is the relationship with the company entity and not necessarily the people at those companies?
13.
How long after a battery cell evaluation do orders typically come from an auto manufacturer?
14.
Does anyone in the industry have an advantage with raw materials for batteries – a current hot topic – whether it’s Britishvolt, CATL or another company we’ve mentioned?
15.
Given raw material constraints, do you think there are battery chemistries that would be as effective with less costly mixes of materials, such as lithium?
16.
What are the challenges in transporting battery cells over long distances? You noted earlier how auto manufacturers want to set up near where manufacturing is, minimising transport. Why is that?
17.
Do you think the energy crisis in Europe makes battery cell production any less competitive compared to other regions? You talked through the example of production and transport from Poland to Germany to the UK.
18.
How would you rank the challenges facing Britishvolt today? Is it lack of contracts, access to raw materials, cost to produce, technology, contracts or something else?
19.
We’ve seen EV adoption pick up in recent years. What have been the drivers of improved cost and battery performance and efficiency on the road today?
20.
How active are auto manufacturers in driving battery cost and performance? Do they completely outsource it to companies such as LG or CATL?
21.
Why did different companies take different routes to electrification? You mentioned Mercedes – is this just natural evolution, and over time auto manufacturers are all going to end up with the same model?
22.
Are there any big deals left or have all the auto manufacturers lined up everything they’ll do in their supply chains?
23.
What are the contractual arrangements between cell manufacturers and auto companies? You mentioned that just because a particular car company arranged a deal with a particular supplier, it’s not set in stone.
24.
What do you think are the odds of Britishvolt being able to compete with more established players, even as many different EV models come out?
25.
In the past, people doubted Tesla and its ability to deliver cars and now it delivers hundreds of thousands every quarter. How do you monitor progress for Britishvolt?
26.
Are there common mistakes or challenges facing struggling EV companies? Are they fixable in the future? You mentioned Rivian.
27.
Which auto companies or suppliers are most innovative? Which should we be watching out for?
28.
What do you think are the most important questions we should ask of Britishvolt’s leadership?
29.
Is there anything we haven’t covered that you want to leave us with?
30.
You’d say the industry is growing overall? Is that the big picture here?
