"Coventry Airport gigafactory plans to be developed after council approval"

[rebbonk]

Yet again, our excremental council is risking OUR money on a poorly thought through gamble!

[dutchman]

Coventry £500k gigafactory outlay backed despite concerns

Councillors in Coventry have questioned plans to spend an extra £500,000 in a bid to bring an electric car battery factory to Coventry Airport.

It is hoped the proposed gigafactory, in Baginton, Warwickshire, could create up to 6,000 new jobs.

The plans were announced in 2021 and £1.75m has already been spent marketing the site, so far unsuccessfully.

The latest spending proposals were signed off by councillors at a meeting this week.

However, Conservative councillor Ryan Simpson asked if it was the right location, while others questioned the size of the investment.

In May, Tata Motors, parent company of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), confirmed it would build a gigafactory in Somerset, despite JLR being headquartered in Coventry and doing much of its manufacturing in the Midlands.

At the time, West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said there were technical aspects of the Coventry Airport site that did not meet Tata's requirements.

"Are we absolutely certain this is the right place to put it?" Mr Simpson asked a council meeting arranged to officially sign off the latest spending.

He questioned if the council needed to be more "flexible" or should be looking at a different kind of facility if JLR was not likely to be the main customer.

"I don't understand who's left to sell car batteries to," he said.

Green party councillor Stephen Gray said: "Half a million pounds to secure a factory being built does seem quite a large expenditure for something that's not certain to pay off."

[dutchman]

Introducing Greenpower Park

Plans to place Britain at the epicentre of the green industrial revolution have taken a significant leap forward with the launch of Greenpower Park.

With the West Midlands Gigafactory at its anchor tenant, the ambitious project, designed to foster world-leading collaborations between industry, major academic institutions and stakeholders to drive the UK's ambitions in leading the transition to a cleaner, more sustainable energy future, has unveiled plans to create an end-to-end electrification and clean energy ecosystem at its Greenpower Park campus in Coventry - the only site in the UK with approved plans for a large-scale battery production facility with capacity for up to 60GWh - enough to power 600,000 electric vehicles and benefiting significant incentives associated with investment zone status.

Combining endorsement from nine local universities and a local business sector rapidly establishing itself as a leader in electrification and clean energy, the Greenpower Park campus will support the development of new businesses and manufacturing facilities with a unique package of incentives, combining investment zone status, approved planning permission and an unprecedented regional incentives package to kick start development.

With a strategic focus on electrification technology development and manufacturing, the centre aims to attract an unprecedented inward investment of £2.5 billion - creating 6,000 highly skilled jobs and placing the UK at the forefront of critical clean energy technologies - and is already attracting keen interest, with a number of Asian battery manufacturers actively considering moving to the site.

Located at the heart of the UK's manufacturing powerbase, and with official approval already secured for a gigafactory with enough capacity to power 600,000 electric vehicles - the initiative will help establish the UK as a strategic centre for vital electrification and clean energy technologies.

Capitalising on a future workforce of over 210,000 local students enrolled in relevant degrees and vocational courses to meet the electrification sector's needs, the project's backers believe that Greenpower Park's launch will prove a pivotal moment in the UK's transition to an electrified economy, as well as a significant leap forward in battery technology development and sustainable manufacturing practices.

[dutchman]

Met a couple of Geordies in the chip shop last night. They told us they were working at the new battery plant in Baginton. I assume they were staying at the hotel across the road?

Interesting that:

a) The work is going to people from OUTSIDE of Coventry and:

b) They are being paid enough to be able to live in a hotel!

[dutchman]

Investor not yet secured for planned gigafactory



A planned gigafactory has not yet secured an investor, months after a deal was reported to be within reach for a plant that would manufacture batteries for electric vehicles (EVs).

In March, the then West Midlands mayor Andy Street said the factory, earmarked for land near Coventry Airport, in Baginton, needed private investment to get it over the line.

Talks with battery manufacturers were said to be at an “advanced” stage last year, and the Sunday Times reported in March a firm was on the brink of committing billions to the scheme.

Coventry councillor, Jim O'Boyle, said conversations with a number of potential investors from around the world were ongoing.

The lack of investment comes after widespread reports of a global slowdown in growth of EV sales this summer.

In an interview with the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Mr O'Boyle said that investment had not been paused, but the market had seen a "correction" and claimed this would resolve.

“It will carry on a trajectory upwards. And that is the natural cycle of things with the automotive sector, it’s feast and famine," he said.

O'Boyle--->

[dutchman]

Coventry gigafactory in limbo as plan faces expiry



Planning permission to build a major battery factory in Coventry is due to expire in a matter of months, as the search for an investor goes on.

The approval for a gigafactory at Coventry Airport will run out in March 2025.

Coventry City Council insists it will meet the conditions to extend its planning permission for two more years.

But planning experts say, with time running out, the council is taking a high-risk and potentially costly approach.

The council has not managed to lure a gigafactory investor to the site since planning permission was granted in 2022.

Industry figures said battery makers could be overlooking Coventry Airport because of a lack of government funding and access to cheap electricity.

Andy Palmer, a veteran automotive industry executive, said he assessed the suitability of Coventry Airport as chairman of battery maker Inobat.

"It certainly was the case that the electrical connection wasn't obvious and would take a long time to get to the Coventry site," the former Aston Martin CEO said.

Last year, the Tata Group decided to build a £4bn gigafactory at a site close to the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset.

An industry source said the site in Somerset was deemed more suitable than Coventry Airport.

"A lot of politicians try to court big businesses in their region," they said.

As the clock ticks on the planning permission, aviation businesses at the airport are frustrated by the uncertainty.

They say they cannot plan for the future, and some companies have relocated or folded already.

Stephen Clark, director of Aerotech Aircraft Maintenance, said customers "don't know whether the airport is viable or not".

"And it's been insidious because of the fact it's gone on for so long," he said.

[rebbonk]

... the council is taking a high-risk and potentially costly approach.

They won't care, it's not their money being wasted. The good citizens of this city are once again paying for council folly!

[dutchman]

Battery firm announces gigafactory plan



Talks have taken place with a battery firm about the possibility of building a gigafactory in Coventry.

Manufacturing firm Volklec has announced it will begin producing batteries at the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre and hopes to ultimately build a £1bn gigafactory in the next five years.

Although no final decision has been made about the location, talks have taken place with the city council about it being built at neighbouring Coventry Airport.

Plans for a gigafactory - producing batteries for electric vehicles - at the airport site have been talked about for the best part of a decade.

According to the latest figures obtained by the BBC, £25.25m of taxpayers' money has been committed to plans to build a gigafactory at Coventry Airport project since 2021.

Those funds have come via the West Midlands Combined Authority and Coventry City Council - with an additional £2m pledged by Coventry Airport Limited.

Yet, to date, no firm has committed to the project and there have been no visible signs of progress.

Volklec's first batteries are expected to roll of the production line at the UKBIC before the end of the year. About 100 jobs will be created initially and there are hopes 1,000 jobs will be created if a new gigafactory is built.

Phil Popham [pictured above], executive director of Volklec, said millions of power cells would be built under an agreement with Chinese partner Far East Battery and would be used to power everything from road vehicles to marine technology.

He said it was "too early to say" if Coventry would be the location.

[rebbonk]

Looking at Volklec and Volklec Technologies It would seem that they need some serious investment in order to go ahead with this. Chinese money?