Plans have been officially lodged for a new hi-tech factory, which could provide more than 100 electronics jobs in the far north of Scotland.

A private company, which is active in the area because of its role at the Dounreay complex, in Caithness, is negotiating with a Far East partner to establish a multi-million pound joint venture for manufacturing a specialist range of batteries for the electronics industry.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise has applied for planning consent for the venture on the outskirts of Thurso.

The blueprint, just lodged with the Highland Council's planning department, shows a 45,000 sq ft factory to be sited at the town's Burnside Business Park, with adjoining space ''reserved for future expansion''.

The planned facility will have the capacity to manufacture around one million lightweight ''lithium ion'' battery cells each year.

The Inverness-based agency is meantime withholding the names of the companies concerned.