Wales in the green revolution frame for Britishvolt’s battery gigafactory

The battery industry is forecast to be worth £5 billion domestically by 2025, and the demand for lithium ion cells across a number of industries, including vehicle electrification, increasing dramatically. Britishvolt is moving to fill gaps arising in the market and leverage the UK’s world-leading lithium ion battery research development and academic community to ensure the country retains a commercial and technical lead. 

First stage £1.2 billion investment into the site is expected to lead to around 3,500 jobs in future.

The firm is also announcing plans to build a solar park alongside the factory, to support sustainable production of batteries and meet low carbon objectives.

Britishvolt chief executive Lars Carlstrom said: “We aim to deliver a scalable, onshore production and diverse portfolio of world-class lithium ion batteries, to support the unprecedented transition to electrification – primarily servicing the automotive and energy storage markets. 

“After six months of careful analysis, Bro Tathan is the preferred choice due to a number of different factors. The Welsh Government has welcomed us with open arms and impeccable due diligence, and the region meets crucial criteria including import/export accessibility, availability of labour and skilled staff, along with convenient geographical proximity to customers and local industrial companies.

The project’s scale means the gigafactory will have one of the top three largest single footprints in Europe.

“The plant will be a kilometre long and 30 metres tall, needing 80 plus hectares of land, and the energy intensive nature of producing lithium ion cells means nearby renewable sources are of huge importance,” added Carlstrom.  

“Our ambition is to become one of the greenest battery producers worldwide, which will be facilitated through the creation of our very own solar park, ensuring a near carbon neutral electricity input.” 

The local employment created will be across a wide range of disciplines, building an ecosystem of 10,000 to 15,000 further jobs for the wider supply chain – including material suppliers, contractors and local services. 

Carlstrom explained: “By the third quarter of 2023, we plan for the first stage of our plant to be fully functional, and envision that between 40 and 60 percent of the initial £1.2 billion of investment will be injected directly into the chosen community, representing a real catalyst for growth in the local economy and the UK.”

source: express.co.uk