UK to sign major deal in battery factory boost for electric vehicles
RISHI Sunak will sign a deal with Jaguar Land Rover who will build a major battery factory in Brexit Britain – rather than Spain.
The Prime Minister will reveal a 9,000 jobs boost for electric vehicles as Indian conglomerate Tata give the green light for a multi-billion cash injection in Somerset.
The decision will help secure the future of JLR marking a significant investment win for the government with the new range of leccy Jaguar and Land Rover models.
Mr Sunak is understood to have been involved in talks as a bidding war broke out between the Spanish and UK governments.
It had been reported that Tata had asked the government for £500 million in state subsidies in the form of grants and support for energy costs and research funding.
Ministers have been struggling in the face of competition from the US and Brussels over green-technology incentives.
The announcement comes months after Britishvolt, a proposed battery factory in the north east, fell into administration owing £120 million to creditors.
The Indian firm’s battery outfit Agratas is building two factories with one in India and the other in Europe.
The batteries are set to be made at the site in the south west owned by the Salamanca Group which is an investment and advisory business.
The battery factory will have a capacity eventually of 40 GW.
Job advertisements for a UK-based battery factory were advertised earlier this month.
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Darren Jones, chair of the Business select committee said: “The decision by JLR to invest in battery production in the UK is very welcome.
The Labour MP added: “We will want to reflect, however, on the subsidy package that was required to secure this decision and if this approach is scalable to meet the need for further battery manufacturing sites for other car companies across the UK.”
A Trade department spokesman has said they don’t comment on negotiations with private companies. Both Salamanca and the Tata Group declined to comment.