Plans for huge lithium-ion battery factory in the UK

The firm is said to have looked at 42 locations, and has narrowed this down to two, with Bro Tathan in South Wales leading the way.

The battery industry is forecast to be worth £5 billion domestically by 2025, and the demand for lithium-ion cells across a number of industries is seen as a key driver.

The facility is anticipated to be a 30 plus GWh facility. Its capacity would be roughly equivalent to the Tesla-Panasonic Gigafactory in Nevada.

The initial wave of £1.2 billion of investment into the site will eventually lead to around 3,500 jobs, according to the firm.

Britishvolt aims to leverage the UK’s lithium ion battery research development and academic community. 

The firm is also announcing plans to build a solar park alongside the factory, to support sustainable production of batteries.

Lars Carlstrom, CEO at Britishvolt comments: “We aim to deliver a scalable, onshore production and diverse portfolio of world-class lithium-ion batteries, to support the unprecedented transition to electrification.

“The plant will be 1km long and 30 metres tall, needing 80 plus hectares of land, and the energy intensive nature of producing lithium-ion cells means nearby renewable sources are of huge importance. 

“Our ambition is to become one of the greenest battery producers worldwide. By the third quarter of 2023, we plan for the first stage of our plant to be fully functional.”