United Kingdom (Commonwealth Union)_ The following are excerpts of the proceedings in the House of Commons wherein Minister for Industry and Economic Security Nusrat Ghani apprised members of the Tata Group’s plan to build a new gigafactory in the United Kingdom.
Tata’s announcement represents one of the largest investments we have ever seen in the automotive sector, and is part of a new wave of investment that are helping to turbocharge our transition to zero-emission vehicles.
Ms Nusrat Ghani (Minister for Industry and Economic Security)
I am pleased to update the House about the significant investment announced by Tata Group. The confirmation that Tata will be investing over £4 billion to build a new gigafactory—the largest in Europe, I believe—in the UK is a historic moment and a major vote of confidence in our automotive sector.
Across Government, we have worked closely with Tata for the past two years to help secure this crucial investment for the UK, and its decision to invest here is a testament to our strong partnership with Tata. Tata’s announcement represents one of the largest investments we have ever seen in the automotive sector, and is part of a new wave of investments—as significant as those made in the 1980s—that are helping to turbocharge our transition to zero emission vehicles….
Tata says that the battery gigafactory will produce high-quality, high-performance, sustainable battery cells and packs for a variety of applications within the mobility and energy sectors. As the anchor customer, the new gigafactory will supply Jaguar Land Rover’s future battery electric models, including in the Range Rover, Defender, Discovery and Jaguar brands. That means we will soon see cars from JLR’s iconic British brands manufactured in the UK, powered by batteries produced in the UK and developed using technology from research and development centers in the UK, before being exported to markets all over the world….
This investment is an important milestone in enabling a UK-made transition to net zero. However, it does not stand in isolation. It builds on other announcements that have been secured with the support of Government, including Nissan and Envision plans to secure £1 billion to create an EV manufacturing hub in Sunderland, Ford committing a total of £380 million to make Halewood the first EV components site in Europe and Stellantis investing £100 million to transition Ellesmere Port to electric van manufacturing.
The transition to zero-emission vehicles gives us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to shape the future of manufacturing.….
Jonathan Reynolds (Labour Cooperative Party)
I thank the Minister for advance sight of the statement.
Anyone who cares about and has knowledge of the automotive sector knows how important these battery factories are to the future of the UK…. Therefore, everyone should welcome this news and breathe a huge sigh of relief that we finally have a positive development.
However, this relief should also come with the humility to appreciate that there is still a great deal to do. If this factory proceeds as planned, the UK will have 66 GWh of capacity by 2030, but at that point Germany would have over 300 GWh, Hungary over 200 GWh and China over 6,000 GWh. I therefore hope there is resolve in the Government to make sure that this is just one of several major announcements of this kind….
Can I also ask the Minister about local content? Will the Government be specifying a minimum percentage of local content required by this factory in order to receive the generous subsidy that has been agreed? In addition, will the Government be encouraging the development of advanced battery chemistries in the UK to aid domestic job creation, but also to limit any risks from geopolitical events that have the potential to disrupt supply chains in future?
We also need to consider this announcement alongside the wider policy environment for automotive in the UK, specifically the rules of origin requirements under the trade and co-operation agreement and the Government’s phase-out of internal combustion engines from 2030. Even with this welcome announcement, these timescales look incredibly tight…. Can the Minister update us on progress towards a deal?
Can the Minister also update the House on the Government’s position on the 2030 phase-out timetable?…
Finally, can I ask the Minister about industrial energy prices? So much of the transition to net zero requires more competitive industrial prices than the UK currently has. We know that has been and is a material factor in the deal, so can the Minister say whether a precedent has now been set that will have consequences for other sectors, such as steel, if deals are struck for their decarbonization? In conclusion, I repeat my welcome of this announcement. I welcome the Government’s conversion to Labour’s way of thinking. I hope it is a sign of many more good things to come. (Blitzindia)
