Efforts stepped up to bring Gigafactory to Coventry

“HIGH level discussions” have been going on behind the scenes as efforts ramp up to bring a Gigafactory to Coventry.

We recently reported how the city council is continuing to make the case for having a Gigafactory in Coventry to boost the economy.

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street is also continuing to press for a site to be found in the region for a Gigafactory.

Coventry is at the “heart” of the automotive sector, he added, and is already in pole position in the race for a Gigafactory because of the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) which is due to open in March. Electric cars need batteries, and a Gigafactory will create these batteries from scratch, from the raw materials right up to the finished product.

There’s a lot of different processes involved, so the building to house it has to be huge.

And it’s not just the automotive sector that will benefit.

“The same tech is used in trains, airlines,” Mr Street said. “Eventually the biggest use will be for domestic energy.”

Having large scale batteries to store energy will revolutionise the way we live our lives, he added.

“So this is so important for jobs in the region.”

Mr Street said the bid to bring a Gigafactory to the West Midlands area is ‘absolutely a live issue.’

“The automotive sector is absolutely critical to Coventry, there are 46,000 people employed in the sector across the West Midlands, and these are good jobs. But the sector is changing as we move towards electric vehicles,” he said.

“Coventry is at the heart of the sector - we have to be at the cutting edge of the journey to electric vehicles. The question of where batteries are produced will become the thing that drives the whole electric sector.”

One of the next steps, Mr Street added, is to find a location.

“Coventry is absolutely leading the race for this,” he said. “The West Midlands is in pole position.”

The next part is attracting investors. Mr Street said he, Coventry City Council and the LEP have been talking to manufacturers to move this forward.

Another important step is working with the government in supporting plans for a Gigafactory so that it becomes a reality.

“These things take time,” Mr Street said. “A lot of good work has been going on behind the scenes, there have been a lot of high level discussions.

“The government is committed to securing one of these, and have put a substantial amount of money aside for it.”