U.K. Green Lights First EV Battery 'Gigafactory'

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Planning permission has been granted for the U.K.'s first electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in Northumberland.

Northumberland County Council has granted permission for construction of Britishvolt's plant on a 235-acre (95-hectare) site at the former Blyth coal-fired plant and described it as a "game changer." The so-called "gigafactory" plant will need £1 billion (US$1.4 billion) in investment and will have a capacity of 300,000 EV batteries a year by 2027. The first phase of the project is expected to go live in 2023. Industrial Info is tracking more than 50 EV battery projects in Europe in excess of US$22 billion, ranging from grassroot battery plants to plant expansions and production line additions.

"This is a huge win, not only for Britishvolt, but also the people of Northumberland," said Peter Rolton, Britishvolt Chairman. "The Gigaplant will bring with it much needed employment, totally regenerating the area. Britishvolt has a strong social values agenda, as well as a world-class environmental, social and governance framework. At our very heart is doing the right thing. This project is the right thing for U.K. plc, and its people, on the roadmap to a low carbon, sustainable future."

The plant will be built in three phases of 10 gigawatts-hours (GWh) each. It will employ 3,000 people when complete.

Northumberland Council leader Glen Sanderson, added: "We're absolutely delighted that this Gigaplant has been granted planning permission. It's a real game changer for Northumberland. It's fantastic news -- not just for the local area, but the wider county and the whole region. It's the biggest investment in living memory. We've a long and proud history of industry in this part of Northumberland and a factory and investment of this size will put this area firmly on the map once again for generations to come."

Britishvolt plans to power the plant using renewable energy, much of it generated by Norway's extensive hydropower network and transported via a 450-mile power interconnector between the two countries.

Industrial Info is tracking Europe's first and largest EV battery project by Northvolt (Stockholm, Sweden) in Skellefteå, Sweden. The plant aims to start large-scale manufacturing this year with an initial annual capacity of 16 GWh, or enough batteries for 250,000 cars, and this will ramp up to at least 32 GWh by 2024, with the potential to expand to 40 GWh in the future. Last year, German automaker BMW (Munich, Germany) signed a 2 billion-euro (US$2.3 billion) deal for batteries for its big push into the EV market with Northvolt. For additional information, see August 3, 2020, article - BMW Signs $2.3 Billion EV Battery Deal With Sweden's Northvolt.

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