West Midlands Gigafactory appoints EV industry expert

Mr Moore was previously chief engineer at Jaguar Land Rover
Mr Moore was previously chief engineer at Jaguar Land Rover

The West Midlands Gigafactory joint venture has appointed battery industry technology expert Richard Moore to spearhead its strategy and global contact with leading cell manufacturers.

This key appointment will support the investment into and development of what is thought to become the UK’s largest gigafactory.

Richard Moore was previously a board member and executive engineering director of Lotus, where he led the engineering of all sports cars, including the Evija electric hypercar.

Previous high-profile industry roles include chief engineer at Jaguar Land Rover where he led the electrification engineering for propulsion systems across all Jaguar and Land Rover product programmes, including the Jaguar I-Pace, the company’s first all-electric vehicle. In these roles, Mr Moore has worked with closely with Chinese battery manufacturers, including CATL and BYD.

An image render of the Gigafactory site
An image render of the Gigafactory site

Mr Moore commented: “This is a significantly important project for the region, the British automotive and domestic energy industries and the UK as we transition to an electrified economy. I hope to be able to use my full experience to bring the project to fruition, with strategic advice and assistance in the ongoing discussions with the global battery industry.”

Mike Murray, West Midlands Gigafactory project director, added: “We are extremely excited with the progress that the West Midlands Gigafactory has already made and the appointment of Richard is a crucial step in our journey as we get closer to identifying a future occupier.”

Based in the automotive skills capital of the UK, the 60GWh per annum West Midlands Gigafactory could become Britain’s largest cell factory. Powered by 100% sustainable, green energy with direct access to a Net Zero transport and logistics infrastructure, West Midlands Gigafactory says it is closer to almost every car manufacturer plant than any other proposed Gigafactory in the UK.

The West Midlands Gigafactory is a public private joint venture between Coventry City Council and Coventry Airport. It is already in advanced discussions with global battery manufacturers to occupy the site which can be production-ready from 2025 to begin supplying high-tech batteries for electric vehicles. At full capacity it could create up to 6,000 direct jobs, with thousands more in the supply chain.

In recognition of the strategic importance of this project, a regional incentives package will be available to the eventual occupier. This is expected to include market-leading land costs for the site as well as creating favourable conditions for local taxation and access to clean, sustainable power that a world-class battery facility requires.

West Midlands Gigafactory
www.ukgigafactory.com

Related Articles

XYZ welcomes back Mike Corbett in new production role

After two years away from XYZ Machine Tools, former applications manager, Mike Corbett is returning to the Burlescombe, Devon-based machine tool company where he will take on the role of production/technical manager from the 1st September.
2 years ago News
Most recent Articles

Renishaw highlights career pathways in engineering

There is not one singular blueprint that can lead to a career in the engineering industry. It offers a variety of roles, open to people from diverse backgrounds. To highlight the diversity of skills and experiences in engineering, global engineering technologies company, Renishaw, has created the ‘Employee perspectives’ series.
1 day ago News

Login / Sign up