The UK Gigafactory Commission has published a report outlining recommendations to attract battery investment and strengthen domestic production, aiming to cut reliance on foreign supply chains.
Currently, the UK only has one operational gigafactory – in Sunderland, run by Chinese-owned firm AESC since 2012 and supplying Nissan. Construction of a second gigafactory officially got under way in December 2024 and is located at the same site. The Agratas gigafactory in Somerset is also under development, with production expected by the end of the decade. There are proposals and planning for additional battery factories in the West Midlands, but none have yet begun formal construction.
The Faraday Institution predicts the UK will need the equivalent of six gigafactories, each producing 20GWh a year of batteries. By 2040, the demand is expected to rise to the equivalent of 10 such gigafactories.
The report warns that with Europe, the US and Asia continuing to move at pace in attracting gigafactory...