The UK is set to become home to a new 40 GWh battery cell factory thanks to a commitment from Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata Group as part of the electrification of its line-up.
The Indian conglomerate has been considering the UK as the site for its battery cell plant for many months now and according to reports, has settled on a site in Somerset owned by an investment and advisory business group called Salamanca Group.
Bloomberg reports that the Tata Group had considered Spain as a possible location for the new site before ultimately choosing the UK. Additional details about the project are expected to be announced soon but in May it was reported that the British government had offered an incentive package worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Read: JLR Owner Tata Close To Inking Deal With The UK For A Massive EV Battery Plant
If the site reaches 40 GWh of capacity, it will be producing enough battery cells to power approximately 500,000 EVs each year.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to laud the factory as a big win for his government. It will represent one of the biggest investments made in the UK’s automotive space made since Brexit and comes despite many other car manufacturers slowly winding down investments in the local market. The deal also comes just a few months after UK battery startup Britshvolt fell into administration despite previously committing $5.1 billion to establish an EV battery Gigafactory in Northumberland producing 30 GWh of batteries annually.
In March, it was revealed that Tata Group was seeking more than £500 million ($651 million) in aid from the British government to build the battery factory. While it is not yet clear if these demands have been met, Tata is tipped to form a partnership with Chinese battery manufacturer Envision to build and operate the site.
