Tata Motors, the owner of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), is poised to unveil plans for a flagship electric car battery factory in the UK.
According to reports, the announcement comes with a massive £500 million in government funding, signifying a significant boost for the domestic car manufacturing sector.
Negotiations between Indian conglomerate Tata Group, which owns JLR, and the government have been ongoing for several months to secure state aid for the ambitious project.
ELN understands that the new facility will be officially revealed on Wednesday.
News of Tata’s potential battery factory in Somerset, UK, has been welcomed by the industry.
Quentin Willson, Founder 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 the UK in the race to zero.”
Dr Andy Palmer, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Palmer Automotive, commented: “If the 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.”
Suzanna Hinson, Battery Workstreams Lead at the Green Finance Institute, said: “While this investment is certainly an important foundation for building a thriving battery industry in the UK, further finance must be crowded in to enable the many innovative businesses that will support this ecosystem to scale.”
