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Released August 07, 2023 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The U.K. has been chosen by India's industrial giant Tata Group (Mumbai, India) for a £4 billion (US$5.1 billion) gigafactory to supply batteries for electric vehicles (EVs).
The company, which owns luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) (Coventry, U.K.), is expected to build the plant on a 600-acre site in Somerset, England. JLR and Tata's motoring subsidiary, Tata Motors will be anchor customers, with supplies commencing from 2026. The proposed plant will aim to produce 40 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of battery capacity per year, enough to power hundreds of thousands of EVs.
The U.K. was chosen over Spain as the location for the plant after nine months of negotiations with the government with regard to financial aid, which will amount to around £500 million (US$643 million). It is an important win for the U.K. which, despite being home to a number of large car manufacturers, lags far behind its European neighbors Germany, France and Spain in the roll out of such gigafactories. Industrial Info is tracking the only other U.K. EV battery gigafactory project, being developed by China's Envision AESC with carmaker Nissan Motor Company Limited (Yokohama, Japan) in Sunderland, England. It will have an annual capacity of 11 GWh when it is commissioned in 2024, rising to an annual capacity of up to 38 GWh when fully expanded in later years.
The investment was welcomed by U.K. Prime Minister\ Rishi Sunak: "Tata Group's decision to build their new gigafactory here in the U.K.--their first outside of India--is a huge vote of confidence in Britain. This will be one of the largest ever investments in the U.K. automotive sector. It will not only create thousands of skilled jobs for Britons around the country, but it will also strengthen our lead in the global transition to electric vehicles, helping to grow our economy in clean industries of the future."
N. Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons, added: "I am delighted to announce the Tata group will be setting up one of Europe's largest battery cell manufacturing facilities in the U.K.. Our multi-billion pound investment will bring state-of-the-art technology to the country, helping to power the automotive sector's transition to electric mobility, anchored by our own business, Jaguar Land Rover."
The U.K. government's goal to spark an investment rush to build large EV battery plants was dealt a major blow earlier this year when homegrown EV battery startup Britishvolt (Blyth), collapsed. For additional information, see January 19, 2023, article - U.K.'s EV Hopes Dashed as Britishvolt Collapses. It had plans to build the country's first major battery plant in Blyth, Northumberland. The £3.8 billion (US$4.6 billion) plant would have been able to produce enough battery cells for more than 300,000 lithium-ion batteries a year, while creating 3,000 direct jobs and another 5,000 indirect jobs in the wider supply chain. The company's assets have since been acquired by Australian firm Recharge Industries (North Geelong, Australia), which hopes to resurrect the project.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
The company, which owns luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) (Coventry, U.K.), is expected to build the plant on a 600-acre site in Somerset, England. JLR and Tata's motoring subsidiary, Tata Motors will be anchor customers, with supplies commencing from 2026. The proposed plant will aim to produce 40 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of battery capacity per year, enough to power hundreds of thousands of EVs.
The U.K. was chosen over Spain as the location for the plant after nine months of negotiations with the government with regard to financial aid, which will amount to around £500 million (US$643 million). It is an important win for the U.K. which, despite being home to a number of large car manufacturers, lags far behind its European neighbors Germany, France and Spain in the roll out of such gigafactories. Industrial Info is tracking the only other U.K. EV battery gigafactory project, being developed by China's Envision AESC with carmaker Nissan Motor Company Limited (Yokohama, Japan) in Sunderland, England. It will have an annual capacity of 11 GWh when it is commissioned in 2024, rising to an annual capacity of up to 38 GWh when fully expanded in later years.
The investment was welcomed by U.K. Prime Minister\ Rishi Sunak: "Tata Group's decision to build their new gigafactory here in the U.K.--their first outside of India--is a huge vote of confidence in Britain. This will be one of the largest ever investments in the U.K. automotive sector. It will not only create thousands of skilled jobs for Britons around the country, but it will also strengthen our lead in the global transition to electric vehicles, helping to grow our economy in clean industries of the future."
N. Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons, added: "I am delighted to announce the Tata group will be setting up one of Europe's largest battery cell manufacturing facilities in the U.K.. Our multi-billion pound investment will bring state-of-the-art technology to the country, helping to power the automotive sector's transition to electric mobility, anchored by our own business, Jaguar Land Rover."
The U.K. government's goal to spark an investment rush to build large EV battery plants was dealt a major blow earlier this year when homegrown EV battery startup Britishvolt (Blyth), collapsed. For additional information, see January 19, 2023, article - U.K.'s EV Hopes Dashed as Britishvolt Collapses. It had plans to build the country's first major battery plant in Blyth, Northumberland. The £3.8 billion (US$4.6 billion) plant would have been able to produce enough battery cells for more than 300,000 lithium-ion batteries a year, while creating 3,000 direct jobs and another 5,000 indirect jobs in the wider supply chain. The company's assets have since been acquired by Australian firm Recharge Industries (North Geelong, Australia), which hopes to resurrect the project.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
