A new report says the UK won't be able to make enough batteries for electric cars

The UK isn’t going to be able to make enough batteries for electric cars. Well, at least at the rate it's currently going. According to a report from a cross-party committee of MPs, there is a ‘gigafactory gap’.

Projections say we should create facilities for as little as 90GWh (and as much as 175GWh capacity if we want to be seriously competitive) by 2030. That needs to be 200GWh by 2040.

As it stands in 2023, the UK has 2GWh – yes, two whole gigawatt-hours – all courtesy of Envision’s Sunderland plant near Nissan.

Sure, Stellantis is going all electric at its Ellesmere Port facility, JLR-owned Tata struck a deal with the government for a gigafactory in Bridgnorth and there’s a big facility with 60GWh potential in the West Midlands in the planning stages (pictured). However, a bit of maths in the report suggests we’ll only hit 67GWh capacity by 2030 at this current rate of progress.

You might recall the government threw a lot of money into a start-up called Britishvolt for a large-scale battery production facility in North-East England. That ran out of cash before the project was completed and had to be bailed out by Aussie start-up, Recharge Industries.

Indeed, it was that failure that catalysed this particular group to launch an inquiry, publishing the ‘Batteries for Electric Vehicles’ report, scrutinising – as you might imagine with such a moniker – all aspects of EV battery production.

It’s found that in addition to not having enough production capacity, sourcing components for EV batteries could also prove problematic. Cathode production is a particularly specialist skill and currently China accounts for 78 per cent of the world’s cathode manufacturing, according to the report.

The report reckons if the UK doesn't get its act together, as many as 160,000 jobs could be at risk. Why? It’s a domino effect. Rules of origin regulations – which say materials need to be produced or sourced locally to avoid certain tariffs – mean car makers will be attracted to build cars where local battery production is plentiful.

Because the UK is ‘export-oriented’ – 80 per cent of vehicles produced here are shipped abroad – car makers would prefer to avoid additional tariffs that could push up the price for customers.

While the report acknowledges the UK will never be entirely self-sufficient for the raw materials going into EV battery production, it’s calling for the government to step in and take a tonne of measures. In short, it wants a 10-year plan from the nation's chieftains.

It says public money should be thrown at subsidies, land access, low cost energy, strengthening supply chains, training to mitigate skills gap and more research. By doing so, it should mitigate against reduced car production in the UK and potential job losses.

Mike Hawes, boss of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said: “The Committee is right to focus on battery production as it is fundamental to the success of UK vehicle manufacturing.

“Billions of pounds has been committed by the industry, including into gigafactories, which is evidence of our capabilities. However, we must build on this success, develop a long-term strategy that maximises our strengths in renewable energy supply, R&D expertise, diverse supply chain and a highly skilled workforce, to assure our future competitiveness."

Rather generously, the Chancellor committed a further £2bn to the UK's zero emission vehicle manufacturing in the Autumn statement, but it's not clear if the money pledged will be sufficient to negate the report's findings. Guess we'll found out soon enough.