West Midlands Gigafactory: Plans for the UK’s first Gigafactory on the site of Coventry Airport have been revealed.
The West Midlands Gigafactory’s aim is to construct the UK’s largest battery Gigafactory in the centre of the UK automotive industry. A battery Gigafactory is a tactically vital investment for the region and the UK. It will play a key part in ensuring the future of the automotive industry.
The objective is to help advance the world’s shift to sustainable energy through electric vehicles by supplying advanced lithium-ion batteries.
Gigafactory to boost sustainability and local economy
At full capacity, the Gigafactory will be able to generate up to 60GWh, which is enough to power 600,000 electric vehicles per year and will be ready for production in 2025.
It will be the largest new industrial facility of any kind in the UK. The project will provide a staggering investment of £2.5bn into the region and generate up to 6,000 new highly skilled jobs directly, as well as thousands more in the supply chain.
It will be powered by a planned major boost to the local energy network, giving the Gigafactory access to a 100% renewable electricity supply from a combination of solar power and grid-supplied renewables. Adding to its sustainability, the plant will be able to recycle used batteries as well as build new ones.
Project director Mike Murray commented: “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.
West Midlands Gigafactory is a public-private joint venture partnership between Coventry City Council and Coventry Airport Ltd. It has support from a unique 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.
The factory will be adjacent to the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC), part of the UK Government’s Faraday Battery Challenge.
About UKBIC
The £130 million UK Battery Industrialisation Centre is a groundbreaking concept in the race to create battery technology for the shift to a greener future. The unique facility provides the missing link between battery technology, which has proved promising at laboratory or prototype scale, and successful mass production. Based in Coventry, the publicly-funded battery product development facility welcomes manufacturers, entrepreneurs, researchers, and educators, and can be accessed by any organisation with existing or new battery technology – if that technology will bring green jobs and prosperity to the UK.
