Chinese EV battery manufacturer to invest £1.2bn in UK factory - reports

Chinese EV battery manufacturer EVE Energy is set to invest £1.2 billion in building what would be the UK's largest gigafactory in Coventry, according to a report.

EVE, which was founded in 2001 and claims to be the world's largest manufacturer of cylindrical EV batteries, produces units for car makers including BMW and employs nearly 30,000 people.

Negotiations over the West Midlands Gigafactory project, which was first announced back in 2021, are said to be in the "advanced" stages, with The Sunday Times reporting that a deal could be signed "within weeks".

The plan is for the Coventry factory to produce up to 20GWh of batteries per year when it first opens.

EVE said the location will be the first of its kind in the UK, because of its "all-in-one" approach to battery research, industrialisation, manufacturing, testing and recycling.

The project follows the pledge made by Jaguar Land Rover parent firm Tata to invest £4bn in building a gigafactory in Somerset, which will create 4000 jobs and run at an eventual capacity of 40GWh.

This should be superceded by the Coventry factory, which is set to produce 60GWh once it has been fully expanded.

This is said to provide enough power for 600,000 electric cars and will make it larger than the Envision plant in Sunderland, which is the largest battery factory in the UK today and has supplied Nissan since 2012.

The factory is set to be built near Coventry airport and will reportedly provide jobs for up to 6000 people.

This will make it a key part of the West Midlands Investment Zone - a funding plan involving local councils and businesses aimed at making the West Midlands a major manufacturing hub for EVs.

This comes after EVE wrote to chancellor Jeremy Hunt detailing its "multi-billion pound commitment", which is expected to bolster the UK's position in EV manufacturing as firms look to establish production capacities closer to key markets.

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