The new owners of collapsed firm Britishvolt are planning to use the Northumberland site to supply batteries to the Australian military.
Australian firm Recharge Industries bought Britishvolt after it went into administration earlier this year.
Since then Recharge has been in negotiation with administrators EY to also secure use of the site near Blyth.
EY declined to comment, but people familiar with the matter said a deal was "close".
Securing use of the site is the crucial first step in Recharge's plan to build batteries for military, heavy commercial and stationary storage purposes.
Australian energy firm EDEA has been involved in talks with Recharge to build power units for Australian military vehicles.
The BBC understands a deal would see Recharge paying EY £2.5m for outstanding fees. It would pay an additional £11m to property investor Katch, which has a financial claim to the site.
If it does go ahead, the planned manufacturing plant would not produce batteries for mass market cars for the foreseeable future, but it is hoped it would still provide thousands of jobs in the north east of England.
However, the BBC understands members of Northumberland County Council still have doubts over Recharge's ability to deliver the multibillion pound plant.
Britishvolt collapsed in January after its former owners failed to secure government funding, which Recharge Industries has said it does not need.
But the Australian firm, which is ultimately owned by a New York-based investment fund called Scale Facilitation, is also a start-up with little battery manufacturing experience. It bought Britishvolt out of administration.
Securing the coveted Northumberland site is a crucial first step in Recharge's plan to supply batteries for military, heavy commercial and stationary storage purposes. Australian energy firm EDEA has been involved in talks with Recharge to deliver their contract to supply batteries for Australian military vehicles.
Ian Lavery, Labour MP for Wansbeck, which includes the Cambois site, said he hoped the plan would be an economic boost for the north east of England.
There had been a number of "false dawns" on this project, he told the BBC, but having met some of the principal players in the deal he was "cautiously optimistic" it could now move ahead and ultimately create thousands of highly skilled jobs directly and in the supply chain.
The Northumberland site is considered ideal for building batteries because of its close proximity to offshore power grids. But its previous owners were dogged by concerns that the business lacked a track record in battery development, sufficient funding and obvious customers.
Many of these same concerns linger over the new owners.
The New York investment fund which owns Recharge Industries is run by Australian, David Collard, who has a background in finance rather than engineering.