Battery manufacturer Britishvolt has selected what it refers to as “two promising sites” for the UK’s first 30-plus GWh gigafactory, from an initial 42 locations, with Bro Tathan in South Wales leading the way.
Britishvolt says the battery industry is forecast to be worth GBP5bn (US$6.3bn) domestically by 2025.
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Demand for lithium ion cells across a number of industries, including vehicle electrification, is already increasing dramatically and risks becoming constrained, maintains the company, as the UK government strives to meet its Road to Zero targets by 2050.
The initial wave of GBP1.2bn of investment into the site will eventually lead to around 3,500 jobs. The firm is also announcing plans to build a solar park alongside the factory, to support sustainable production of batteries.
“We aim to deliver a scalable, onshore production and diverse portfolio of lithium ion batteries, to support the unprecedented transition to electrification – primarily servicing the automotive and energy storage markets,” said Britishvolt CEO Lars Carlstrom.
“After six months of analysis, Bro Tathan is the preferred choice due to number of different factors. The Welsh Government has welcomed us with impeccable due diligence and the region meets crucial criteria including import/export accessibility, availability of labour and skilled staff, along with convenient geographical proximity to customers and local industrial companies.
“The sheer scale of this project means our gigafactory will have one of the top three largest single footprints in Europe. The plant will be 1km long and 30 metres tall, needing 80-plus hectares of land and the energy intensive nature of producing lithium ion cells means nearby renewable sources are of huge importance.
“Our ambition is to become one of the greenest battery producers worldwide, which will be facilitated through the creation of our very own solar park, ensuring a near carbon neutral electricity input. Our gigaplant will employ at least 3,500 local Welsh people. These will be across a wide range of disciplines and will create a local ecosystem of 10,000 to 15,000 further jobs for the wider supply chain – including material suppliers [and] contractors and local services.
“By the third quarter of 2023, we plan for the first stage of our plant to be fully functional and envision between 40% and 60% of the initial GBP1.2bn of investment will be injected directly into the chosen community, representing a real catalyst for growth in the local economy and the UK.”
