Six firms in talks to build gigafactories

SIX firms are in talks to build so-called “gigafactories” in the UK, according to reports, amid speculation that an electric vehicle plant could be built in Somerset.

It is rumoured that a gigantic new “smart campus” near Bridgwater – called Gravity – could be a potential base for electric vehicle manufacturing, with US tech billionaire Elon Musk’s Tesla having been linked to the Somerset site.

Gravity has previously stated its aim to attract “world-leaders in advanced manufacturing, robotics, artificial intelligence and electric vehicles” to its massive former Royal Ordnance factory site just off the M5.

This week, the Financial Times reported that “six companies are in talks about building the electric car battery gigafactories that could secure the future of the country’s automobile industry”.

Carmakers Ford and Nissan, conglomerates LG and Samsung, and start-ups Britishvolt and InoBat Auto are mentioned by the financial newspaper as in discussions with the Government or local authorities about locations for potential factories.

Only one of these firms –

Inobat – has so far made its plans public, with the other five all keeping discussions private.

The Government has put securing battery investment at the heart of efforts to sustain the UK motor industry as part of a wider project to reduce carbon emissions, and has set aside a £500 million fund to aid battery plant financing. Sales of new petrol and diesel cars will be banned in the UK by 2030.

Experts believe that due to the nature of gigafactories, it is less likely that existing car factories would be used, and instead new purpose-built factories could be built. The north east of England is seen by many as potential site for a gigafactory due to its good access to the electricity grid, while in the Midlands, local authorities have already put together a plan to transform the old Coventry airport site into a battery plant.

Andy Street, mayor of the West Midlands, has vowed that he will “not rest until the West Midlands has the gigafactory it needs”.

The Faraday Institution, the UK’s independent institute for electrochemical energy storage research and skills development, estimates that Britain will need one gigafactory by 2022, two gigafactories by 2025 and eight gigafactories by 2040 to meet demand for electric vehicles and batteries. Speculation has been growing that Elon Musk could be eyeing up a Somerset site to build a new Tesla gigafactory.

Local MP Ian Liddell-Grainger has labelled it as “one of the best sites in the United Kingdom” which “should be considered for the very important future of car manufacturing and battery manufacturing”.