The country urgently needs to acquire a security of supply for battery cells to ensure it can meet “massive power demands” as the world transitions to electric power, according to the UK’s centre of electrification and clean energy.
Greenpower Park has called for the next UK government to accelerate domestic battery production and said it is lagging behind countries such as the US, France and Spain when attracting investors.
It said securing battery cell supply was as vital as securing steel was 80 years ago:
“This is not the first time the UK has faced a resource crisis,” said Richard Moore, Greenpower Park’s battery strategy expert.
“We ramped up steel supply in the 1940s and 50s to build and replace military and civil equipment and can draw a parallel from this with battery cell demands today.
“And if we act now, we can still resolve the crisis.
“The UK has got to get its head out of the sand if it thinks it’s going to hit its battery cell targets,” he added.
“The government and stakeholders have been slow to react to battery cell supply demands. If the next government doesn’t take action, there will be a major risk to the security of energy supply, which will leave the nation in a perilous state.”
Greenpower Park said the UK currently has only operational gigafactory, Envision AESC in Sunderland, which produces up to 6GWh of battery capacity each year.
But according to The Faraday Institution’s 2022 gigafactory report, to support the UK’s automotive industry alone, the country needed 100GWh a year by 2030, doubling to 200GWh by 2040.
Greenpower Park warned that demand for batteries extended beyond the automotive sector and battery capacity would be required across electricity storage, domestic residential as well as broader emobility sectors such as marine and aviation.
