Government funding given to support Scottish battery manufacturing alongside a host of other battery projects.
The government today announced £49 million for low carbon transport projects, with part of the £10 million Automotive Transformation Fund pot to go towards upscaling a battery cell production facility in Scotland. It is hoped that this will help to “pave the way” for a UK Gigafactory.
A UK Gigafactory is currently in the works, with Britishvolt helming the project. It is set to be located in Wales and be powered by a 200MW solar farm.
The Scottish battery factory is one of 31 projects to receive part of the £10 million government fund, with other projects looking at development of high-performing electric vehicle (EV) batteries and state-of-the-art motors.
A further £29 million is being awarded to six projects through the APC16 competition, with one project to develop infrastructure for EV and battery recycling, something which is often cited as a drawback to EVs. It is hoped this will save vehicle manufacturers “thousands of pounds shipping battery packs abroad for recycling”.
The final £10 million is to go towards 12 projects, with one of these looking to implement automation technologies to quickly charge EV batteries in the factory.
Minister for business and industry, Nadhim Zahawi, said: “Backed by government funding, these trailblazing projects will help Britain to build back better by creating all-important green jobs, ensuring the sector can make further strides towards an electrified automotive future and helping to address one of the biggest challenges of our time: making transport greener.”