British battery metal refiners and electric car gigafactories are being handed cheap power deals by the Government as part of a battle to cut the West’s dependence on China.
Companies will get the energy relief from next month with the aim being to boost domestic production of key minerals needed for wind turbines, electric cars and defence technologies, officials and executives say.
Paul Atherley, chairman of Tees Valley Lithium and Pensana, which are building plants in Teesside and Humberside respectively, said the changes will cut the price his companies pay for energy from a quarterly average of 19 pence per kilowatt hour (kWh) to “single digits” in September.
Pensana plc (LON:PRE) explores and mines neodymium, praseodymium, and rare earth minerals. The Company’s flagship assets are the Saltend rare earth refinery project in the United Kingdom and Longonjo neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) Project in Angola.
