The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Battery firm could bring Dundee boost
Abattery firm is in talks to establish a production facility in Dundee, creating up to 100 jobs. AMTE Power wants to establish a scale-up facility in the largest building at Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc (MSIP).
Thurso-based AMTE specialises in lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries for the transport and storage sectors.
The investment into the Dundee facility, at the former Michelin tyre factory, would run into eight figures.
Commercial director David Pell said there was a “real willingness” on all sides to make the move happen.
He said: “We have the technology and now we’ve got to scale up. There are a number of things that attract us to Dundee. Firstly our heritage as a Scottish company.
“Secondly, we see Scotland as progressive in terms of its drive and focus on net-zero.
“Thirdly is the real commitment not just to putting the supply chains in place but also the skills base. We see a real commitment to this at MSIP.”
He said the 10,000 square metres Dundee facility would cover a wide range of battery production.
“We are seeing a real willingness from the various Scottish agencies to try to make this happen. We are committed to making this happen.
“Now we are getting into the detail about what is available to support us setting up and the investment we’d bring to the table.
“That’s where you get into the real detail to see if the business case is viable. We are honing in on a lot of that detail over the next few weeks.”
AMTE also intends to build a much larger gigafactory. It does not have a preferred location for this but it will not be located at MSIP.
The size of this more automated facility is so large it would cover the entire 32-hectare MSIP site at Baldovie.
Mr Pell said there is a “chance” it could come to Tayside, but the firm is considering a much wider search area.
He added: “The scale-up site will be much more process oriented. To get a production line up might take a few months.
“With a gigafactory and the size of it you are talking many hundreds of staff but some of these production lines are highly automated.”
He said the Dundee factory would likely employ 80 and 100 staff.
Greig Coull, MSIP chief executive, confirmed the talks with AMTE Power.
He said: “We are very excited about the potential prospect of hosting them on the site.
“We feel there’s a real opportunity to build a cluster of electric, mobility and storage activity here.
“This is not only in terms of manufacturing but in terms of the whole management technology required.”
Following its closure, the sprawling Michelin Dundee site could have become a depressing brownfield void. The likely fate of the acres of space which once was a hub of activity and economic pride was for it to succumb to decay and vandalism and become a blight on the community it once helped support.
Thankfully, Michelin Dundee has gone in another direction altogether and is now emerging as a beacon of hope for the city rather than a silent commentary on the further decline of Scotland’s manufacturing base.
The establishment of the Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc (MSIP) was viewed by many through a sceptic’s eye. But it is not a sop to deflect anger at the factory’s closure, nor a PR stunt.
Serious money is being invested at the site and the community it is building – focused on the new economy, energy transition and creating high-quality opportunities for the next generation of workers coming through – is something of which this region can be proud.
At the recent COP26 negotiations the site was held up as a blueprint for others to follow of how to start walking the walk of economic transition after years – if not decades – of talking the talk.
The latest firm to join the MSIP family looks set to be the research and development arm of a major Scottish battery company.
Not double As for the children’s Christmas toys, but power units that will help drive uptake of electric vehicles as the country moves away from fossil fuel-powered vehicles.
It is a welcome addition to the fold at Baldovie. But it also comes with the tasty carrot of a potential manufacturing facility that could – if built out locally – be one of the single most important investments this region has seen for decades.
That such companies are even looking in Dundee’s direction is testament to what has been achieved in recent years to shrug off the post-industrial malaise that hung over the city like a bad haar for so long.
Momentum is gaining in the new economy locally and that is heartening to see.
But we are only in the foothills of that transition and we cannot afford to take our foot off the accelerator.