A £126m battery facility to keep the West Midlands at the
forefront of the automotive industry has been supercharged by an
£18m grant from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).
The UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) in Coventry
will be key in growing industrial battery manufacturing
capability in the UK.
The WMCA Board, chaired by Mayor , has approved a repayable
grant of £18m to help ensure UKBIC has the latest technology to
attract top-tier automotive manufacturers and research and
development companies.
A consortium comprising Coventry City Council, Coventry and
Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership and the Warwick
Manufacturing Group were awarded £80m by the Government towards
the UK BIC in November 2017, before then Business Secretary
announced a £28m boost in May
2019 as his department launched the first Local Industrial
Strategy in the West Midlands.
UKBIC is a new national open access industrialisation
facility supporting the national and regional industrial strategy
focus on UK design, development and manufacture of battery
technology”.
, the Mayor of the West
Midlands, said: “UKBIC aims to put the West Midlands at the
forefront of global battery research, as the automotive market
moves away from polluting fuels like petrol and diesel and
towards a greener, cleaner future using battery
technology.
“This investment by the WMCA will help ensure UKBIC
features the very best, cutting-edge manufacturing technology,
which in turn will attract automotive manufacturers and leading
research scientists to the region to scale-up ground-breaking
technology.
“Here in the West Midlands we are building a cutting edge
electric vehicle cluster including UKBIC and JLR’s Castle
Bromwich plant where the new all electric XJ will be
built.
“This cluster is helping to position our region as the
global leader in autonomous vehicles, however in order to take
the next step we have to build a gigafactory. This factory would
mass produce the state-of-the-art batteries that UKBIC will scale
up, and I would implore the Government to continue to back our
plans.”
Councillor Jim O’Boyle, cabinet member for jobs and
regeneration at Coventry City Council and CWLEP board director,
said: “As part of our vision for Coventry, we identified the need
to locate UK BIC right here in the heart of the manufacturing
centre of the country.
“I want our city and our workers to have the opportunity to
take advantage of what will be the new green industrial
revolution, starting here in Coventry. This is a step
towards realising that dream of mass employment opportunities
creating both the jobs and the products of the future. Coventry
stands ready to deliver.”
Jonathan Browning, chair of the Coventry and Warwickshire
Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “UKBIC will play a vital role
in helping the UK to become a global leader in the manufacture
and scale-up of batteries and is truly a collaborative
project.
“Coventry and Warwickshire has been at the forefront of
innovation and expertise in a number of vital areas, and UKBIC
will see us leading a project which will have a major influence
on the sector.”
The 18,000 metre-square facility, which is due for
completion in March 2020, will initially employ an estimated 100
people once fully operational. Additional jobs will also be
generated in the supply chain, and further employment and
training opportunities will be created in the future.
