Plans to investigate UK’s first gigafactory

Aiming to service the automotive and energy storage markets, AMTE Power and Britishvolt have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) focussed on each other's complementary ambitions to create and expand an onshore manufacturing supply chain.

The successful outcome of the collaboration would enable scalable production of a diverse product portfolio of lithium ion batteries to support the UK’s ‘Road to Zero’ targets and unprecedented transition to electrification.

Kevin Brundish, CEO at AMTE Power commented: "We are delighted to be working with Britishvolt exploring the creation of a large scale manufacturing facility in the UK, and thank APC for introducing us. The recent global crisis has further highlighted the importance of having a robust onshore supply chain, and the creation of a GigaPlant would place the UK in a strong position to service automotive and energy storage markets. The scalable production of lithium ion cells is key to electrifying vehicles and would drive new manufacturing revenues and new employment, and can be built on AMTE's focus on the supply of specialised cells, thereby continuing the country's tradition of excellence in battery cell innovation."

Lars Carlstrom, CEO at Britishvolt, added: "Aligning our objectives with AMTE Power, who are looking to add to their current manufacturing capabilities in the UK, our ambition is to build a 30+ gigawatt hour factory with the support of the British Government, creating up to 4,000 jobs in the process. Meeting Road to Zero targets and moving the UK into a low carbon economy will necessitate the unprecedented electrification of vehicles, and reliance on renewable energy will require extensive battery storage. It is costly and carbon-intensive to have lithium ion batteries imported from the Far East, and this GigaPlant would cement a solid onshore supply chain to ensure quality and eliminate future uncertainty of supply."

AMTE Power www.amtepower.com