Battery technology firm Britishvolt is teaming up with warehouse giant Prologis to build a new £200m tech centre in the West Midlands.
Britishvolt believes the site, at Prologis Park Hams Hall just outside Birmingham, will become a centre of excellence for electrification, with major car manufacturers close by the facility.
The facility will complement Britishvolt’s Gigaplant at Blyth in Northumberland and enable it to produce more batteries.
Britishvolt will lease the centre from Prologis which will complement its £300m battery gigaplant factory being built by ISG in Northumberland.
Work there aims to drive new cell formats and electro chemistries to create higher performance, production ready, batteries while helping lower cell costs for more affordable electric cars.
Paul Franklin, property director at Britishvolt, said: “This is another important milestone for Britishvolt, UK plc and its world class automotive industry.
“The UK’s battery ecosystem is a global leader in integrated technology development and industrialisation with the Warwick Manufacturing Group, Faraday Institution, UK Battery Industrialisation Centre and the Advanced Propulsion Centre.
“I am delighted to see Britishvolt lead the UK’s journey into re-industrialisation with the first full-scale battery Gigaplant. The new scale-up facilities announced today will help the UK build on its home-grown battery intellectual property and level up the country ready for the energy transition.”
Main contractor Winvic started early works on the site last October and practical completion of the structure is anticipated in July with fit out and equipment installation to be undertaken through to end Q3, 2023.
Image: An artist’s impression of the new facility (credit: Britishvolt)
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