Battery technology pioneer Britishvolt has started a strategic partnership with the UK's largest equipment rental provider, to support the development of the company’s first full-scale 38GWh battery Gigaplant in Northumberland, and create “economies of carbon”.

The partnership will also see Sunbelt Rentals and Britishvolt work closely to support the development of heavy plant and equipment battery solutions to help decarbonise the construction and equipment rental sectors.

Tom Cowling, Chief Governance Officer, Britishvolt said: “Britishvolt’s cutting edge battery cell technology developments, tailor-made approach to customer requirements and ability to deliver battery solutions at volume, is the differentiator that sparked the initial interest from Sunbelt resulting in this exciting partnership.

Read more: Britishvolt and Aston Martin to develop new battery technology

"The fact that Britishvolt and Sunbelt will jointly operate an “onsite rental facility” is a huge boost to our ESG strategy and brings with it “economies of carbon” as it will dramatically reduce the construction supply chain carbon footprint.”

Andy Wright, CEO of Sunbelt Rentals said: “There is an increasing market demand for alternative powered equipment to support our varied customer base across multiple sectors. This latest partnership is going to enable us to service that demand in the future”.

Batteries are an important component in achieving a successful energy transition in the UK. Britishvolt’s ambition is to create some of the planet’s most responsibly manufactured, sustainable, battery cells, primarily to power electric vehicles. This links closely with Sunbelt Rentals’ ‘Our Planet’ ESG strategy, which is the businesses’ action plan for positive change, implementing a blueprint for a greener future.

Britishvolt and Sunbelt Rentals have a shared vision of accelerating the transition to electrification through collaboration, and Wright continued, “This is an exciting opportunity for Sunbelt Rentals to support the future of green energy. Britishvolt is striving towards the same ambition for positive environmental change as we are, they aim to accelerate the electrification of society, to deliver sustainable, low-carbon batteries on the roadmap to decarbonisation. This is more than just a commercial collaboration, it’s an opportunity for us to support an important part of the future of renewable energy in the UK.