New details have been released on the plan to build a £ 2.5 billion automotive battery manufacturing facility near Coventry.
The Gigafactory could be ready for production in 2025 – and immediately become the UK’s largest single industrial facility – according to new details released today (October 21).
Although the project was only in draft form at this stage, the project was hailed as a game changer for the West Midlands by the mayor of the area, Andy Street.
The planned facility at Coventry Airport would cover the same area as 74 full-size football fields and create up to 6,000 jobs, it said in a statement, with “thousands more in the local supply chain”.
The new production facility will run on 100% new, 100% renewable energy from a combination of solar and grid-fed renewable energies and could produce up to 60 GWh – enough to power 600,000 electric vehicles per year.
The project is supported by a public-private joint venture between Coventry City Council and Coventry Airport Ltd, supported by a unique alliance of local governments, industrial groups and universities.
Project Leader Mike Murray said, “The West Midlands Gigafactory has a unique mission to create a state-of-the-art battery gigafactory in the heart of the UK automotive industry.
“It’s going to be a huge investment of money in the region, creating thousands of well-paying jobs and vital new skills for this country.
“The Coventry Airport location is perfectly situated for this as it is ideally positioned to supply the UK’s leading automobile manufacturers who need access to world class batteries on their doorstep.
“We have to make these advanced lithium-ion batteries where we make cars, and there is no better place than in the West Midlands.”
Cllr Jim O’Boyle, Coventry City Council Cabinet Member for Employment, Regeneration and Climate Change, said: “Coventry is the historic home of the UK automotive industry, where much of the cutting-edge technology that has shaped the global automotive industry over the last century originated here in our city.
“Now that we are at the dawn of a new electric age, we intend Coventry to be at the forefront of the green industrial revolution that will fuel the future of the automotive industry.”
