Jaguar Land Rover owner share new plans for UK's biggest EV battery plant
Bosses behind the UK's biggest electric vehicle (EV) battery plant have shared new plans for the site.The main building will now be shorter than originally proposed, and the first factory building will not open until 2027 - a year later than previously thought.Agratas, Tata Group's global battery business, is investing £4bn in the former Royal Ordnance Factory site just off junction 23 of the M5. Bosses said 4,000 jobs will be created and enough battery cells annually to supply 500,000 vehicles.Jefferson Weber, Agratas head of construction, said: "Despite a level of uncertainty in the market, we're here making a big strategic bet in Somerset. We really believe in this market, we're bullish about it and we think it's the future of vehicle manufacturing."
Jaguar Land Rover owners Tata is hosting a series of community consultation events this week to update residents on changes to the plans.These include the main building now being shorter than originally planned, the first phase of the internal ring-road and National Grid's plans for an electricity substation to power the site.The gigafactory will be one of the largest in Europe and will initially make batteries for vehicles like Range Rover, the Defender and the Jaguar brands.Under the plans, the plant will also supply other car manufacturers as well as producing commercial energy storage.
Mr Weber added: "We looked at cutting-edge technologies from lots of different countries and we managed to find an optimal solution that allowed us to reduce the building size by around 84 metres."It reduces energy and water consumption along with our carbon footprint."But he denied it was a sign they were scaling back the project. "The number of jobs and opportunities from this project during its construction and operational phases remains the same," he added.Construction is expected to take two years, with about 500 people on site by end of 2025, going up to 2,000 in 2026. The company said 1,500 operational jobs would be created in 2027, with 4,000 jobs on offer once they expand across the whole site
The site will eventually produce 40GWh of battery cells annually, enough to supply approximately 500,000 passenger vehicles, Agratas saidBy the early 2030s, the facility could provide up to 40% of all electric vehicle batteries for the UK domestic market, the company said.It previously said the overall project would be worth "hundreds of millions" to the local economy.
A department for transport spokesperson said they recognised the global challenges car manufacturers face and have listened to their concerns by consulting on reinstating the 2030 phase out date of new petrol and diesel car sales."One in four of all cars sold in February was electric, and last year saw a record 382k EVs sold – the highest in Europe. "We're investing over £2.3 billion to support industry and consumers make the switch, tapping into a multibillion-pound industry that will create high paid jobs for decades to come, make the UK a clean energy superpower and secure Britain's future to deliver our Plan for Change," they added.The previous government confirmed in 2023, Tata had been offered a "large" incentive to site the plant in the UK.It is understood that the government is providing subsidies worth hundreds of millions of pounds.They are likely to be in the form of cash grants, discounts on the cost of energy, and training and research funding.
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