Australian firm Recharge Industries has bought the defunct battery maker Britishvolt out of administration.
Britishvolt had planned to build a £4bn battery plant near the Port of Blyth in Northumberland but it collapsed last month after running out of money.
Its downfall was blamed on a lack of battery experience, proven technology, customers and revenue.
Recharge Industries has in many ways a similar profile - it is a start up with little manufacturing experience.
The Australian company is ultimately owned and run by a New York-based investment fund called Scale Facilitation.
"What we are bringing is validated technology," the fund's Australian chief executive David Collard told the BBC.
"The US defence industry has validated it and it is already supplied to the UK navy through a subcontractor."
Big ambitions
The new owners will keep the Britishvolt brand name but have very different plans for the future.
The company intends to start by focusing on batteries for energy storage and hopes to have those products available by the end of 2025.
The prospect of a much-needed plant that can produce batteries for high-volume carmakers in the UK looks many years off.
But does Mr Collard understand why many in government and the automotive industry are nervous that it won't deliver what UK industry needs without involvement from major manufacturers like Ford, GM, JLR and BMW?
"They all started somewhere before they became big. We've got accelerated growth and have been successful all along the way," he said.
Recharge Industries certainly has big ambitions. It is planning to build a similar plant in Mr Collard's hometown of Geelong, near Melbourne. He has spent time fostering relations with government and opposition leaders there.
He conceded he hadn't made the same level of connections in the UK yet, but had engaged with the owners of the Northumberland site.
"I spent a lot of time with Northumberland County Council. They genuinely want a gigafactory and the best thing for their people," he said.
Mr Collard conceded he might not be the right person to deliver that.
"I'm not saying I'm the best person in the world to run this project, but at the end of the day the administrators had a legal obligation to get the best return for creditors. But I do think they care, as individuals, what the future holds."
The deal comes just days after the Levelling-Up Secretary Michael Gove announced £20.7m in funding for Blyth.
