West Midlands Gigafactory in talks with battery manufacturers

Talks between a company wanting to build a gigafactory in Coventry and several leading Asian electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturers are at an advanced stage.

The West Midlands Gigafactory joint venture confirmed that talks were ongoing about future investment at the Coventry site.   

It has planning permission in place for a large-scale battery production facility with capacity for up to 60GWh per annum – enough to power 600,000 EVs.

Developers say that it is perfectly placed as a “pioneering centre of excellence” for battery technology and manufacturing, located at the heart of the UK’s manufacturing industry.

Cllr Jim O’Boyle, cabinet member for jobs, regeneration and climate change at Coventry City Council said, said: “The West Midlands Gigafactory site in Coventry is a prime location offering future investors an all-in-one solution for battery manufacturing, research, industrialisation and recycling.

“In addition, we are well-positioned to become an ‘investment zone’, which will deliver significant additional tax incentives and breaks for future investors.”

Speaking at the Labour Party conference on Monday (October 10), he added: “I’m pleased to report that we are now in advanced discussions with leading Asian battery manufacturers who want to develop a presence in the UK.

“We hope, with the support of the UK Government, that we will secure an investor and further strengthen our region’s leadership credentials in the shift towards electrification.”

West Midlands Gigafactory’s mission is to create the UK’s largest battery gigafactory and one of the largest industrial facilities of any kind in the UK.

The project, it says, will inject a £2.5 billion investment into the region and create up to 6,000 new highly skilled jobs directly and thousands more in the supply chain. 

West Midlands Gigafactory is a public private joint venture partnership between Coventry City Council and Coventry Airport.

It has support from an alliance of West Midlands industrial groups, local government, and academic institutions. This alliance includes the West Midlands Combined Authority, Warwick District Council, Warwickshire County Council, Rugby Council, Warwick Manufacturing Group at University of Warwick, Coventry University, and the Manufacturing Technology Centre.