| The deal to take on failed battery business Britishvolt has finally been completed, with the project's new owners pledging to create thousands of green, skilled and local jobs.
And that can't come soon enough for those who have closely watched over the Blyth scheme.
Recharge Industries, an Australian firm owned and run by New York-based investment fund Scale Facilitation, is rejuvenating the plans to build a battery plant at Cambois, Northumberland, having snapped up the majority of the Britishvolt business from administration.
Britishvolt, which called in administrators in January, hoped to build a multibillion-pound "gigafatory" at the site of the old power station, capable of producing hundreds of thousands of electric vehicle batteries each year.
With all the plans on hold, stakeholders have endured a nervous wait until the takeover by Recharge Industries was confirmed - and now Wansbeck's Labour MP Ian Lavery says the promised jobs can't come soon enough for the region.
He said: "We need this project to get up and running again as soon as possible and hopefully this confirmation means that the ball can start rolling again and these thousands of much needed jobs are created for our long held back region. I have met with David Collard, the chief executive of Recharge Industries parent company Scale Facilitation, along with other senior members of the team at Recharge Industries a number of times already and have been impressed by both their professionalism and long term vision for the site in Cambois."
"While there is much to be pleased about this morning it is important that we do not get carried away. This region cannot have another false dawn like with the original Britishvolt story and to make sure of that things must be done differently this time."
Mr Collard, in the meantime, says the Britishvolt brand name will remain – and he's outlined the firm's initial plans, which you can read about here.
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