The municipality of Coventry and Coventry Airport want to realize a huge battery factory. The British ‘gigafactory’ has an important role to play in making the British car industry more self-sufficient.
Anyone familiar with the British car industry knows that the heart of it has been in the Midlands for decades. Specifically near Coventry, where Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin, for example, still build cars. It’s no surprise, then, that Coventry sees itself as the ideal place to open a massive battery factory. Partly because of Brexit, such a factory is a welcome addition to the local car industry. The city of Coventry and Coventry Airport are therefore now presenting plans for this so-called ‘gigafactory’.
The intention is that the factory will be built on the site of the airport. The relatively small airport has not played an important role for years and has even been closed for a short time. According to the parties, it is therefore an excellent location for the factory. There is room for a factory covering no less than 41 hectares. It would create thousands of jobs and boost the auto industry. It can also attract up to £ 2 billion in investment, it is argued.
The plans are now being discussed with car manufacturers and battery suppliers and the British government will be presented with the concrete plans this year. Should Coventry get the green light, up to £ 500 million (€ 573 million) of government funding could be awarded to the project. Incidentally, it was previously announced that Nissan will also house battery production in the UK in response to Brexit.