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India's Tata Group, parent company of Jaguar Land Rover, intends to build a 40GWh gigafactory at the Gravity Business Park near Bridgwater.
Tata expects to start production at the new gigafactory in 2026, suggesting that construction will need to start soon.
According to press reports, the UK government has offered Tata £500m-worth of incentives to persuade it to pick the UK over Spain as its European battery production base. Having seen the collapse of Britishvolt’s plans to build a gigafactory in Blyth in Northumberland last year, the needs for an indigenous UK electric car industry has become more pressing.
Business and trade secretary Kemi Badenoch said: “Today’s multibillion-pound investment demonstrates that this government has got the right plan when it comes to the automotive sector. We are backing the UK car industry to help grow our economy as we transition to electric vehicles, and this latest investment will secure thousands of highly-skilled jobs across the country.”
Prime minister Rishi Sunak said: “With the global transition to zero emission vehicles well underway, this will help grow our economy by driving forward our lead in battery technology whilst creating as many as 4,000 jobs, and thousands more in the supply chain. We can be incredibly proud that Britain has been chosen as home to Tata Group’s first gigafactory outside India, securing our place as one of the most attractive places to build electric vehicles.”
Motoring journalist Quentin Willson, founder of the electric vehicle campaign FairCharge, said: “While this is a very significant development for UK battery manufacturing, I truly hope that other companies in the battery, critical minerals, charging and EV supply chains won’t be neglected. The government should see this subsidy as the beginning of building a battery ecosystem in this country. There is a genuine fear in the industry that it could sweep up all available government support, which would be hugely detrimental to the future health of U.K. plc in the race to zero. We have some world class battery and EV talent and we must support them as much as we can to prevent this valuable resource of innovators moving to other more receptive markets.”
Dr Andy Palmer, founder/CEO of Palmer Automotive, said: “As a long-time advocate for government support of the nascent UK battery industry, I, like any sensible onlooker, welcome the news. However, I also air caution and so should the industry. If UK dishes out the bulk of its battery-related support to one brand, then we still face likely car industry armageddon. Support must come in all shapes and sizes for businesses of all shapes and sizes. One gigafactory doesn’t equal success, it equals part of the puzzle. We need a harmonious, collaborative, strategic industrial strategy that lifts all boats. Or the tide will sweep the UK automotive sector into the deep abyss.”
Tata chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran said: “The Tata group is deeply committed to a sustainable future across all of our business. Today, I am delighted to announce the Tata group will be setting up one of Europe's largest battery cell manufacturing facilities in the UK. Our multi-billion pound investment will bring state-of-the-art technology to the country, helping to power the automotive sector’s transition to electric mobility, anchored by our own business, Jaguar Land Rover. With this strategic investment, the Tata group further strengthens its commitment to the UK, alongside our many companies operating here across technology, consumer, hospitality, steel, chemicals, and automotive. I also want to thank His Majesty's government, which has worked so closely with us to enable this investment."
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