-- The UK has unveiled a 380 million British pounds ($510.5 million) grant to support the construction of one of Europe's largest electric-vehicle battery plants, to boost domestic battery manufacturing and reduce reliance on imports, the Department for Business said on Thursday.
Peter Kyle, UK Business Secretary, announced the grant for battery maker Agratas to build a gigafactory in Somerset, part of a broader push under the country's Modern Industrial Strategy to bolster advanced manufacturing.
The gigafactory is projected to generate about 43 billion British pounds in economic output over 25 years and reduce the UK's reliance on imported batteries.
The facility will supply battery cells to Jaguar Land Rover, a key customer, as Britain races to scale up electric vehicle production.
The project, which forms part of more than 700 million British pounds in total investment, is projected to support about 4,200 direct jobs and thousands more across the supply chain.
The investment comes as the UK seeks to position itself as a competitive hub for battery manufacturing, with ministers citing more than 360 billion British pounds in private investment secured since the launch of the industrial strategy, supporting up to 120,000 jobs.
Together with the Agratas funding, the UK government outlined additional support measures for the automotive and manufacturing sectors.
The measures include 47 million British pounds for battery research and development, and 190 million British pounds to boost the automotive industry's transition to electrification.
Car manufacturers, including Nissan and Jaguar Land Rover, will receive a combined 90 million British pounds under the DRIVE35 program to advance prototype development and new technologies aimed at lowering EV costs.
Suppliers in key manufacturing regions such as northeast England and the West Midlands will also be eligible for 100 million British pounds in grants to support the transition to electric vehicle production.