Credit: West Midlands Gigafactory
BMW battery supplier in talks to invest more than £1bn in West Midlands facility that could become UK's largest gigafactory, reports claim
Chinese electric vehicle (EV) battery maker EVE Energy is reportedly in talks to invest in the region of £1bn in a new UK gigafactory on the outskirts of Coventry.
The firm, which supplies batteries to the likes of BMW, is understood to be considering an initial £1.2bn plan to build the West Midlands Gigafactory which is set to form one of the main parts of a planned UK Centre for Electrification investment zone.
The Times reported Guangdong-headquartered EVE is in talks to initially invest in the creation of a 20GWh gigafactory, while subsequent phases could expand the site to 60GWh - almost double the size of Nissan's electric battery factory in Sunderland and enough to power around 600,000 electric vehicles.
The vision for the new site would see it provide an all-in-one solution for the EV sector, encompassing battery research, industrialisation, manufacturing, testing, recycling, and electrified logistics.
Though plans could ultimately attract private funding of up to £2bn, it is expected hundreds of millions of pounds in UK subsidies would likely be needed for the project to reach a final investment decision.
However, the move could ultimately create up to 6,000 jobs at the West Midlands Gigafactory, which has been touted as the anchor tenant for the UK Centre of Electrification, a joint venture between local councils and the owners of Coventry airport where it will be located.
An update in October revealed several unnamed "leading Asian battery manufacturers" were reportedly interested investing in the West Midlands Gigafactory.
"Based in Coventry, West Midlands Gigafactory is the only available site in the UK that sits within an investment zone and has planning permission for a large-scale battery manufacturing facility," a spokesperson for the project said. "We are in discussions with a number of global battery manufacturers, but these remain confidential."
Should the project move forwards, it would join auto making facilities run by Jaguar Land Rover, Aston Martin Lagonda, and BMW in the West Midlands, as well as the UK's largest battery research centre, the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre.
The Times understands that EVE has made "a multi-billion pound commitment" in a recent letter to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.
A government spokesperson said: "We are determined to ensure the UK remains one of the best locations in the world for automotive manufacturing as we transition to electric vehicles, while ensuring taxpayer money is used responsibly and provides best value.
"We do not comment on speculation or the commercial affairs of private companies."
EVE, which claims to employ 28,000 staff globally and began construction of its first European gigafactory in Debrecen, Hungary, in November was reported to have signed a contract with BMW to supply its European EVs with large cylindrical batteries around 18 months ago.
BMW recently confirmed it is to build its new electric Mini in Oxford, having secured a reported £75m in funding from the government.
Fresh reports of investment at what could become the UK's largest gigafactory come after Tata Group's global battery business, Agratas, last month confirmed it will build a multi-billion-pound EV battery gigafactory at the Gravity Smart Campus near Bridgwater in Somerset, with Jaguar Land Rover and Tata Motors lined up as its first customers.
Agratas said production of 40GWh of batteries a year at the facility was slated to begin in 2026.
China-owned firm AESC was also awarded a £200m bridging loan from the UK Infrastructure Bank to support the development of its 15.8GWh gigafactory in Sunderland in January.
The announcements since the turn of the year seek to address claims that the UK's current gigafactory pipeline would satisfy a little over half the capacity the auto industry is likely to need by 2030, or what research described as a national "gigafactory gap".
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