A failed British battery startup's 95-hectare site in Northumberland, England, is being sold to US private equity firm Blackstone for £110m.
Blackstone plans to build one of Europe's largest data centers there, taking advantage of the area's renewable energy links.
The receivers for the Britishvolt company did not disclose the sale price, but Northumberland county council documents show a £110m fund will be created as a result of the deal.
The promised thousands of jobs from the data center's plans for the failed startup are unlikely to materialize.
Britishvolt, a company aiming to manufacture batteries for electric cars in the UK, gained support from then-prime minister
Boris Johnson and £100m in government subsidy in 2019.
However, the company collapsed in early 2023.
The site, formerly a coal-fired power station in Blyth, is now being taken over by Blackstone to create one of Europe's largest data centers.
Analysts anticipate continued growth in demand for data centers due to increasing digital content and cloud services.
The deal ensures the revitalization of a significant brownfield site in a deprived area of the UK.
The text discusses the potential for Britishvolt's site in Northumberland, UK, to utilize local green energy sources for a proposed gigafactory.
However, the realization of this plan may come at the cost of thousands of job opportunities that were anticipated.
The council had previously held an option to purchase the site back from Britishvolt for £4m if development did not occur.