- The UK battery strategy outlines the government’s vision for achieving a globally competitive battery supply chain by 2030.
- The efforts will be at designing and developing the batteries of the future, strengthening the resilience of UK manufacturing supply chains.
The UK has published its first battery strategy outlining the government’s vision for achieving a globally competitive battery supply chain by 2030. Also, the plans will be supported by GBP 4.5 billion in recently announced funding for strategic manufacturing sectors, including GBP 2 billion in new capital and research and development (R&D) funding for the automotive industry. This is to support the production of zero-emission vehicles, their batteries and their supply chain from 2025 to 2030.
The government says the battery strategy, developed with the UK battery strategy taskforce, is based on a design-build-sustain approach. The efforts will be designing and developing future batteries, strengthening the resilience of UK manufacturing supply chains by working with the domestic industry and international partners and creating a sustainable battery industry.
Furthermore, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) commented that capitalising on the UK’s competitive strengths requires a combination of clarity on the regulatory environment and a comprehensive set of incentives to encourage investment. “The publication of a new battery strategy, alongside the delivery of full expensing and unlocking grid connections, marks a positive step forward in achieving that critical combination,” added John Foster, CBI chief policy and campaigns officer.
Recently, a cross-party committee of Members of Parliament warned that the UK government is falling behind its competitors and urgently called on it to create an attractive environment for electric vehicle battery production. “We desperately need a 10-year strategy that boosts subsidies, creates secure access to low-cost power, designates key sites for gigafactories, fixes the skills gap, delivers tariff-free trade, de-risks access to critical minerals and offers long-term R&D for the industry,” Liam Byrne, chair of the Business and Trade Committee, said last week.