U.K. Seen Needing to Move More Quickly to Take Advantage of Battery Demand

Unedited from report below by Faraday Institution:

Executive summary
The electrification of transport is accelerating across the world, with many countries capitalising on the economic opportunities. The UK has achieved some notable successes in expanding existing and securing new battery manufacturing plants (gigafactories).

However, the pace of action needs to step up a notch, otherwise the UK
will fall behind in the global race and fail to maximise the economic benefits from the transition from the internal combustion engine (ICE) to electric vehicles (EVs).

Since the Faraday Institution’s previous report in 2020, European gigafactory capacity projected for 2030 has more than doubled from 450 GWh (Gigawatt hours) per annum to over 1,100 GWh, with over 40 plants now expected to be open and producing cells by the turn of the decade. Germany is a leading location for manufacturers (with
12 gigafactories open or planned) along with Hungary, France and Italy.

The Tesla plant in Germany is the largest planned, with a proposed capacity of up to 100 GWh. Globally, there are now around 300 gigafactories and 6,400 GWh of lithium-ion battery capacity in the pipeline.

In the UK, recent announcements have built up a level of excitement about the potential to create a new, dynamic and highly skilled battery industry in the UK. Britishvolt has started the construction of a new 38 GWh plant in Northumberland, which will directly employ 3,000+ people.

A second Envision AESC plant in Sunderland has recently received planning permission for 11 GWh of capacity and AMTE has set out plans for a new 10 GWh plant in one of three sites to be operational by 2025.

Coventry Airport has also been identified as a preferred gigafactory site and Jaguar Land Rover has declared the Jaguar brand will be all electric by 2025.

Continues in report:

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