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REA has welcomed the Government’s backing for
Britishvolt gigafactory;
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Factory set to produce enough batteries for over
300,000 electric vehicles each year;
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Investment welcomed, but REA says more is needed to
support additional projects.
The Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology (REA)
has welcomed the Government’s in principle offer
of funding for Britishvolt’s gigafactory in Blyth,
Northumberland.
Once operational, the factory will produce enough batteries for
over 300,000 electric vehicles each year. The project is also set
to create 3,000 direct highly-skilled jobs and another 5,000
indirect jobs in the wider supply chain, underlining the economic
benefits of decarbonisation.
Manufacturing batteries in the UK is not only great for jobs and
investment, but also for the environment, as the batteries are
built close to where they can be used instead of being shipped to
the UK from the other side of the world.
The REA says that further investment will be needed to deliver
the number of gigafactories needed to support the UK’s automotive
industry, scale up EV production and move closer towards Net
Zero. The proposed project in Coventry is cited as one such
development which urgently needs funding.
Additional investment will be required to develop the UK’s
battery recycling capability to reduce wastage of rare elements
such as lithium and cobalt, the extraction of which is both cost
and emissions intensive.
Jacob Roberts, Transport Policy Manager at the
Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology (REA),
said:
“This is a really welcome investment from the Government -
Britishvolt’s gigafactory in Blyth is now set to be at the heart
of the UK’s electric vehicle future.
“With around 8,000 direct and indirect jobs being created, it
shows the added value that can be delivered through siting
gigafactories in areas in need of jobs and investment, and
underlines the economic benefits of decarbonisation as well as
the environmental ones.
“Further investment will be needed to deliver the number of
gigafactories needed to support the UK’s automotive industry,
scale up EV production and move closer towards Net Zero. The
proposed project in Coventry is another development which
urgently requires funding, so we hope that Britishvolt’s
gigafactory will be the first of many to receive Government
backing.”
