West Midlands Gigafactory, a public private joint venture between Coventry City Council and Coventry Airport Ltd, has unveiled further plans to develop the UK’s largest battery Gigafactory as it continues to explore investment opportunities with battery manufacturers from around the globe.
Located in the epicentre of the UK’s automotive industry, the Gigafactory will begin supplying high-tech batteries for electric vehicles from 2025. It will be the result of a £2.5bn investment, creating up to 6,000 new highly skilled jobs directly and thousands more in the wider supply chain in Coventry and the surrounding region.
This strategically crucial investment is an imperative for the UK’s electrified future, especially for the automotive industry which will stop producing petrol and diesel engines from 2030.
The new Gigafactory, which will command over half a million square metres of space – equivalent to 74 full-size football pitches, will be one of the largest single industry facilities of any kind in the UK and at full capacity will be capable of delivering up to 60GWh of production per year.
It will be powered by a planned major boost to the local energy network, giving the Gigafactory access to a 100 per cent renewable electricity supply, from a combination of solar power and grid-supplied renewables.
The West Midlands Gigafactory will be able to recycle used batteries as well as build new ones in an industry leading approach known as “cradle to cradle.”
Mike Murray, West Midlands Gigafactory project director said: “The West Midlands Gigafactory has a singular mission to create a state-of-the-art battery gigafactory in the heart of the UK automotive industry.
“It will provide a huge cash investment in the area, leading to thousands of well-paid jobs and creating crucial new skills for this country.”
Based at Coventry Airport, the Gigafactory will be adjacent to the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre, part of the UK Government’s Faraday Battery Challenge.
The Centre provides a critical link between research at laboratory or prototype stages and the successful mass production of new battery technologies.
Margot James, Executive Chair at WMG, University of Warwick comments “The West Midlands is already home to 28% of the UK’s automotive sector talent, with an established skills ecosystem and supply chain.
“The proposed Gigafactory will bring a wealth of opportunities and high skilled jobs to the region. WMG is a centre of excellence for battery technology research and development alongside UKBIC, making the region a natural home for the proposed Gigafactory.”
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