Urgent action is required – UK demand for Electric Vehicles (EVs) will grow rapidly as regulatory measures take effect and consumer pressure grows.
The recent UK government announcement prohibiting new sales of ICE powered vehicles post 2030 must be accompanied by a comprehensive industrial strategy and plan that provides for a just transition for the UK automotive sector.
Investment in a standardised charging infrastructure is urgently required alongside a developing capacity to manufacture high value EV components, batteries, motors and drivetrain here in the UK.
The UK falls dangerously behind our European competitors in terms of both investment and securing the alliances necessary to bring battery manufacturing and its associated component supply chain to the UK.
Forecasted UK demand for 130Gwh by 2040 will require eight Gigafactories – at 15Gwh each and could support an additional 60,000 jobs if supply chain and component manufacturing is built into the programme.
Failure to manufacture here in the UK could cost 114,000 automotive jobs by 2040. This will be sooner if environmental targets and regulatory controls tighten.
Without action to secure a long-term supply of core minerals used in the manufacturing process and control of cathode/anode and cell manufacturing here in the UK we will fall victim to a global shortfall of extracted supplies as early as 2022.
Utilisation of UK mineral and metal resources to support battery manufacture could see a transformation of the Cornish economy and build resilience into the UK supply of necessary raw materials.
Lithium-ion battery technology for EVs is already providing manufacturers with opportunities to diversify into the manufacture of domestic and commercial energy storage equipment central to the government’s strategy and new build homes.
There are currently plans for some 140 lithium-ion battery manufacturing facilities globally, with a projected 70 per cent in China, to support the transition from combustion engines to full electric vehicles.
Unfortunately the UK government has limited its investment to £128m in battery research and development (Faraday Institute), a sum that includes construction of the Battery Industrialisation Centre in Coventry.
In comparison, France and Germany are estimated to have provided financial incentives totalling £750m and £1b respectively to battery manufacturing firms.
This is prior to additional sectorial level funding tied to reduced emissions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Faraday Institute predicts UK demand for one Gigafactory in 2022 and two by 2025. In reality we need eight to meet predicted demand as we transition from combustion to EVs. Each could take up to five years to construct given requirements for licences, permits, land and the construction timeframe.
Failure to support this could see thousands of UK automotive jobs lost. So the scale of the challenge is massive, but also the opportunities in front of us are there for the taking to support a world class UK automotive manufacturing sector. To succeed we must connect political and industrial will to priortise UK manufacturing as a central element of a recovery and rebuild strategy both from COVID-19 and Post Brexit trade with the European Union.
Rodney Sadd
Union delegate for South Holland & The Deepings CLP
