West Midlands Gigafactory
West Midlands Gigafactory’s mission is to create a manufacturing facility in the heart of the UK automotive industry.
OPPORTUNITY
The West Midlands Gigafactory in Coventry is a strategically crucial investment for the region and the UK. It will play a major role in securing the future of the automotive industry. The goal is to help drive the world’s transition to sustainable energy through electric vehicles. At full capacity, the Gigafactory will be able to produce up to 60GWh - enough to power 600,000 electric vehicles per year.
It will be one of the largest new industrial facilities of any kind in the UK. The project will inject a £2.5bn investment into the region and create up to 6,000 new highly skilled jobs directly and many more in the supply chain.
Promoter: Coventry City Council and Coventry Airport Limited
Scale: £2.5bn+ GDV
Sector: Industrial
Location: Coventry South
Investment Type: Range including partnership, direct development or co-investment
Programme: Pre-planning, operational 2025
Planning Status: Resolution to grant outline planning consent: Jan 2022
Website: www.ukgigafactory.com
BACKGROUND
Electrification represents the biggest change to the automotive sector since the internal combustion engine, driven by Government policy to phase out new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 and reach Net Zero by 2050. As we rapidly move towards zero-emission electric vehicles, without a battery manufacturing facility there is no car industry.
The West Midlands is the heart of the UK automotive industry, and the West Midlands Gigafactory will create the heart of the British battery industry with access to the world-class skills, talent and supply chain capabilities.
The region hosts a mature automotive sector linked to a national and international supply chain, with an economic value of £3.2bn GVA, employing around 46,500 people.
Meanwhile, Coventry & Warwickshire has emerged as a centre of excellence in battery technology, research, and development. The region is home to the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC), the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), and WMG at the University of Warwick.
The promoters are now mobilising a successful local partnership, created around the delivery of UKBIC, a one-of-a-kind facility designed to scale up UK battery manufacturing, adjacent to the site. This will not only deliver a West Midlands Gigafactory but ensure it can immediately plug in to an advanced automotive eco-system.
DESCRIPTION
The West Midlands Gigafactory will become one of the UK’s largest single industrial buildings, covering the same area as 74 football pitches. It will be powered by 100% sustainable energy and at full capacity will produce up to 60GWh – enough to power 600,000 electric vehicles per year. The West Midlands Gigafactory will attract a £2.5bn investment, create up to 6,000 direct jobs and tens of thousands more in the supply chain.
The Gigafactory proposal is part of Coventry and Warwickshire’s ambitious 10-year vision and investment plan. This facility is at the heart of an area that has been developed to create the right environment for the next generation of automotive investment, including opportunities for supplier co-location, the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre, R&D technology parks, new office developments as well as retail and leisure opportunities.
PROMOTER AND PARTNERSHIPS
The West Midlands Gigafactory is a public-private joint venture partnership between Coventry City Council and Coventry Airport Ltd as the freeholder and long leaseholder of Coventry Airport.
The opportunity is backed by an alliance of West Midlands industrial groups, local government, and academic institutions. This alliance includes West Midlands Combined Authority, Warwick District Council, Warwickshire County Council, Rugby Borough Council, WMG at University of Warwick, Coventry University, and the Manufacturing Technology Centre.
LOCATION
The proposed West Midlands Gigafactory is the ideal location to serve the British car industry and is closer to almost every car manufacturing plant in the UK than any other Gigafactory proposed or in build.