Plans submitted for second UK electric vehicle battery gigafactory
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Planning officials will give their decision on the project later this year.
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An application to build an electric vehicle battery gigafactory on an airport site at the heart of the UK’s automotive sector has been submitted to planning officials.
Proposals for the lithium-ion manufacturing facility at Coventry Airport, in the West Midlands, say the plant would occupy an area of 5.7 million sq ft for both battery production and recycling, would add £434m to the regional economy each year – and create 6,000 jobs and "tens of thousands more in the supply chain”.
The announcement comes just a week after planning chiefs in north-east England gave Britishvolt the green light to build what is set to be the UK’s first lithium-ion gigafactory.
If given the go ahead, the Coventry plant could start operations as soon as 2025, in a region that is home to Jaguar Land Rover, Aston Martin Lagonda and BMW, with Coventry Airport adjacent to the UK’s largest battery research centre, the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre.
Coventry City Council leader, Councillor George Duggins, said: "The submission of a planning application for a gigafactory is the important next step as we seek to deliver battery production for the West Midlands.”
"We are the ideal location for a gigafactory as the home of the UK automotive sector, alongside world-leading research in battery technology.”
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Proposals for the lithium-ion manufacturing facility at Coventry Airport, in the West Midlands, say the plant would occupy an area of 5.7 million sq ft for both battery production and recycling, would add £434m to the regional economy each year – and create 6,000 jobs and "tens of thousands more in the supply chain”.
The announcement comes just a week after planning chiefs in north-east England gave Britishvolt the green light to build what is set to be the UK’s first lithium-ion gigafactory.
The Joint Venture Partnership behind the Coventry public-private investment project said their planning application will be decided by Warwick District Council and Coventry City Council later this year.
'Important next step'
If given the go ahead, the Coventry plant could start operations as soon as 2025, in a region that is home to Jaguar Land Rover, Aston Martin Lagonda and BMW, with Coventry Airport adjacent to the UK’s largest battery research centre, the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre.
Under the proposals, Coventry Airport would close, but a spokesperson for the project told World Battery News earlier this year that the gigafactory would attract up to £2bn of investment.
Coventry City Council leader, Councillor George Duggins, said: "The submission of a planning application for a gigafactory is the important next step as we seek to deliver battery production for the West Midlands.”
"We are the ideal location for a gigafactory as the home of the UK automotive sector, alongside world-leading research in battery technology.”
Related articles in our archive: