New Tata Gigafactory all set for Somerset: Britain’s biggest battery plant to create 4,000 jobs
A “multi-billion-pound” battery manufacturing hub will be built near Bridgewater, Somerset
Jaguar Land Rover owner, Tata, has confirmed plans to build Britain's biggest battery factory at its ‘Gravity Smart Campus’ in Somerset. The facility will be operated by Tata’s Agratas business and will create up to 4,000 new jobs in the area, with “many thousands more expected to be created” according to the firm.
Plans for the factory, with the ability to produce 40 GWh of battery cells, were boosted by a £500m subsidy from the Government last year, helping to fight off competition from Europe. Agratas says that by the early 2030s, the plant “will contribute almost half of the projected battery manufacturing capacity required for the UK automotive sector.”
Tom Flack, a former director at Ford and now CEO of Agratas, said: “Our multi-billion-pound investment will bring state-of-the-art technology to Somerset, helping to supercharge Britain's transition to electric mobility whilst creating thousands of jobs in the process.”
An exact figure for the price of the factory hasn’t been revealed, but it is expected to cost around £4bn. Preliminary construction has started already, with battery production set to begin in 2026.
Securing the battery plant will be seen as a big win for the UK Government, especially considering the recent failure of the gigafactory startup Britishvolt in Northumberland. The Somerset hub will also be Agratas’ first gigafactory outside of India.
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