Government invests to make the UK a world leader in battery manufacturing for electric vehicles

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Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark announced today that the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) would invest £120 million into R&D to help the UK become a world leader in electric vehicle battery development and production.

In a speech at the Battery and Energy Storage 2017 Conference, Clark set out the winners of this next phase of the £246 million government investment into battery technology through the Faraday Battery Challenge. These include an investment of £80m into the UK’s first automotive battery manufacturing development facility, in the West Midlands. This facility will allow the UK to develop the processes required to manufacture pioneering battery technology in the UK at a high-volume production rate. Clark said: “The new facility, based in Coventry and Warwickshire, will propel the UK forward in this thriving area, bringing experts from academia and industry together to deliver innovation and R&D that will further enhance the West Midlands’ international reputation as a cluster of automotive excellence.” £40m of total investment through the Innovate UK run Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund innovation competitions will help fund 27 battery research projects involving 66 organisations. These will cover key technologies such as the development of battery materials and cell manufacturing, design and production of modules and packs including advances in thermal management and battery management systems, and recycling and recyclability of battery packs. Clark added: “Battery technology is one of the most game-changing forms of energy innovation and it is one of the cornerstones of our ambition, through the Industrial Strategy and the Faraday Challenge, to ensure that the UK leads the world, and reaps the economic benefits, in the global transition to a low carbon economy.” Today’s news builds on last month’s announcement by Mr Clark of The Faraday Institution, a multi-million-pound research institute to drive and accelerate fundamental research in developing battery technologies, and its translation, funded from the ISCF through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). The next round of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund Faraday Battery competition will open on January 22nd and close on 28th March 2018.

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