Cov’s gigafactory hopes are still alive, says Midland mayor

COVENTRY should not give up on being home to a gigafactory just yet, despite losing out in a deal between the Welsh Government and the company hoping to build the first one in the UK.

On Friday July 17 South Wales was announced as the preferred site for the huge manufacturing operation to produce batteries for electric vehicles and the estimated 3,500 jobs it would create.

Britishvolt, the start-up company behind plans for the gigafactory, confirmed South Wales as its preferred location for the project over Coventry.

But West Midlands Mayor Andy Street believes that is not the end of the matter and that Coventry could still become the location for a gigafactory.

Britishvolt has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Welsh Government for its proposed £1.2 billion project at the Bro Tathan Business Park at St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan.

The company first announced its gigafactory plan in June and whittled down 44 locations across the UK to just St Athan and Coventry.

Coventry had been considered to be a frontrunner, due to the huge investment taking place around the development of electric vehicles in the city and the areas surrounding it.

Andy Street said: “I can’t deny the fact Britishvolt has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Welsh Government but would hate your readers to think Coventry has lost out or lost the race.

“It could be misunderstood that there is only one prize in this game and there really isn’t.”

Mr Street said that the West Midlands, and Coventry and Warwickshire in particular, are still perfectly placed to take full advantage of the electric car boom and be the site of a gigafactory.

He added: “A memorandum of understanding is not that far-reaching but more importantly there are other suppliers of batteries worldwide who will be in conversations with the Midlands team.

“I am focused on those existing suppliers.”

For a Midlands gigafactory to become a reality it would need state backing and Mr Street also called on the Government to do that.

“Full marks to the Welsh Government, they have shown determination and we need the UK Government to show the same determination,” he said.

Mr Street said it was acknowledged the UK would need more than one gigafactory and the Midlands remained in a strong position, crucially in terms of customers on its doorstep such as Jaguar Land Rover.

“What is really important is you need customers,” he said.

“The customer base is based in the West Midlands and that is why we have to keep going to the market with those customers with us.

“I remain determined and confident but we are going to need government support.”

Mr Street has called on the Government to back a Midland gigafactory through its Automotive Transformation Fund.

The West Midlands Combined Authority recently put forward a £3.2 billion blueprint to government, in a bid to get the regional economy back on track in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The blueprint included £250m towards a gigafactory.

Reinforcing the case for the Midlands Mr Street said: “All the eco system is building around Coventry. The UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) will open this year.

“There final suppliers, the testing being done, electric vehicles with LEVC.

“You have got a brilliant cluster, what is surprising is a company has gone to Wales which doesn’t have that cluster and we should keep our ambition of doing this we have still got the critical ingredients.”

Mr Street admitted there had been talks between the West Midlands

Combined Authority and Britishvolt, which actually has its registered address in Coventry, but that he was not “downhearted” when it announced its intention to build a factory in Wales.

He added: “There have been conversations between the West Midlands team and Britishvolt.

“They made their choice. I wasn’t downhearted.

“I am absolutely clear we are really well positioned and nothing has happened that changed that.”

Mr Street concluded by saying that the Automotive Transformation Fund had yet to go live but that when it does it could support a Midlands gigafactory.

He said that would be in line with pledges by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, made during a visit to Dudley, that he would back the West Midlands being a leader in electric vehicle technology.

Despite its memorandum of understanding with the Welsh Government Britishvolt will need to demonstrate it has the necessary funding to take the gigafactory project forward.

It is planning a listing on the London Stock Exchange to support fundraising and it is also seeking funding from the Government’s Automotive Transformation Fund. The company wants to begin construction in Wales in the spring of 2021. has