The City Council has reported that it is in advanced discussions with several leading Asian battery manufacturers about future investment at the Coventry site.
The Council claims that the West Midlands Gigafactory’s Coventry location is the only available site in the UK with planning permission in place for a large-scale battery production facility with capacity for up to 60GWh per annum – enough to power 600,000 electric vehicles. Apparently “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”.
The Council also claims that the ground-breaking location is the first of its kind in the UK is offering an all-in-one solution for battery research, industrialisation, manufacturing, testing, recycling and electrified logistics designed to foster the UK’s growing battery ecosystem.
The Council feels that the site is “perfectly located at the heart of the UK’s manufacturing industry in the West Midlands with access to world-class skills, talent and supply chain capabilities in the region. It benefits from a strong transport infrastructure for the future Gigafactory’s logistics requirements, supply chain and access for up to 6,000 employees.” Unfortunately, the site does not have rail access.
The Council feels that as the electrification revolution represents the largest shift in industrial skills for the UK in a generation, the West Midlands Gigafactory is ideally placed to be a catalyst to strengthen the region’s high value skills and research credentials as part of the UK Government’s West Midlands Investment Zone.
The Council states that in recognition of the strategic importance of this project, an unprecedented regional incentives package will be available to the eventual occupier. This is expected to create favourable conditions for local taxation and access to clean, sustainable power that a world-class battery facility requires.
The council has not commented on the impact of the Government decision to back the Jaguar battery facility in Somerset or the impact of the recent relaxation of Government targets for the electrification of the UK private vehicle fleet (from 2030 to 2035).