Coventry 'gigafactory' proposals get off to flying start

Proposals to create a new 'gigafactory' for electric vehicle (EV) batteries at Coventry Airport took a major step forward today, after the venture's joint partners, Coventry City Council and Coventry Airport Ltd, confirmed a planning application has been submitted for the ambitious project.

Plans for a new manufacturing site were first announced in February this year and will now be assessed by Warwick District Council and Coventry City Council.

Battery manufacturing is considered an increasingly-important strategic industry for the UK's decarbonisation plans and today's news comes just a fortnight after Nissan revealed it was part of a group that is planning to build a £1bn gigafactory as part of its EV36Zero electric vehicle hub in the North East. Meanwhile, yesterday the government published its long-awaited Transport Decarbonisation Plan, which set out proposals for raft of new measures to accelerate the transition to EVs.

However, there is widespread acknowledgement that the UK needs to build a number of gigafactories if it is to ensure surging demand for EVs can be met with vehicles in built in the UK.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently stated in Parliament that a gigafactory in the West Midlands would contribute to ensuring the region takes a "lead in building new electric vehicles for this country and for the world". 

The government has made up to £500m funding available for gigafactories, which the West Midlands site is expected to bid for in due course. However, reports from both the CBI and SMMT, published last month, called for this support to be increased further to ensure the UK does not fall behind European competitors as demand for EVs continues to surge in the years ahead.

The Coventry project is expected to deliver 5.7m sq ft of space for both battery production and recycling, and the planning application suggests it could create £434m in gross value add (GVA) for the regional economy each year, as well as creating 6,000 new jobs and tens of thousands more in the supply chain.

The planning application also confirms that the gigafactory will be powered by 100 per cent green energy, using a combination of sources including on site solar and wind technologies, as well as grid supplied renewables.

With a third of vehicles made in the UK produced in the West Midlands, the planned Gigafactory is seen by both industry and political leaders as a way of safeguarding the region's position as a leader in car making. The proposed site is adjacent to the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC), while the region is home to Jaguar Land Rover, Aston Martin Lagonda, and BMW.

Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands, underlined the value a gigafactory could bring to the region. "It is mission critical that the West Midlands secures a gigafactory, both for the future of our region's automotive industry and the huge economic and job benefits it would bring, as well as the future of our planet," he said. "I am therefore delighted that after years of collaborative work, we have now been able to reach this milestone moment of formally submitting a planning application for our preferred site."