The UK needs to rapidly increase investment in domestic battery production to help keep up the predicted increase in demand for electric vehicles (EVs) and full-scale grid storage, according to a report from the Faraday Institution.

The report states that the UK will need the equivalent of six gigafactories by 2030 – each producing 20GWh per year of batteries. By 2040, the demand could rise to the equivalent of 10 gigafactories.

“The UK is making progress but not moving fast enough compared to its European competitors,” the body said.

Since the beginning of the year, Tata Group has confirmed it would build a £4bn gigafactory to produce EV batteries in Somerset and the UK Infrastructure Bank has announced a £200m loan to support the development of a facility by AESC in north-east England.

The Faraday Institution report suggests that the EV and battery industry could support 270,000 UK jobs by 2040, but “more needs to be done”.

Currently, China accounts for an estimated 78% of the world’s...