Britishvolt is expected to fall under administration on Tuesday morning, the BBC said, after hopes of a last-minute deal for the company were dashed.
According to people familiar with the matter, a report to the bankruptcy courts is to be expected.
The company, which is planning a factory to make batteries for electric cars, will hold a staff meeting at 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
The company is understood to want to update employees before making any public announcement.
The company’s board is believed to have decided at a lengthy meeting Monday that there were no viable offers to keep the company afloat.
“It’s a great shame, not only for Britishvolt and its 300 employees, but also for the future of battery manufacturing in the UK,” said a person close to the matter.
The company hoped to build a new £3.8 billion battery factory at the port of Blyth in Northumberland.
An existing shareholder added: “It’s insane, I’ve offered a multitude of possible solutions. Fall on deaf ears. It seems to me that management wants the company to go into administration. A real shame for the people of Northumberland and the country.”
The ambitious but financially strapped start-up narrowly avoided collapse late last year after one of its investors, commodities trading giant Glencore, extended a lifeline.
Last year Britishvolt asked the government for an advance of £30m of the promised £100m in support but was turned down as the company failed to meet agreed construction milestones to access the funds.
Industry experts say the UK will need multiple battery factories to support the future of UK car manufacturing as petrol and diesel engines are phased out over the next decade.
There is currently only one Chinese-owned plant in the UK, aside from the Nissan plant in Sunderland, while 35 plants are planned or under construction in the EU.
But both industry and government sources remain hopeful that this facility will eventually be built — whoever will own it.
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