Too little, too late for UK battery strategy
The UK government has published its long awaited battery strategy to a muted response from the industry.
The UK battery strategy is based around a design-build-sustain approach, with a focus on designing and developing battery technology, strengthen the resilience of UK manufacturing supply chains and enabling the development of a sustainable battery industry.
The strategy highlights the battery gigafactories at AESC in Sunderland and the proposed plant by Tat in Somerset and was developed with the UK battery strategy taskforce, drawing on the call for evidence and engagement with businesses and stakeholders.
However it makes no mention of the BritishVolt activity, AMTE Power’s plans or the proposed plant in the West Midlands, or of government support for building battery manufacturing plants. This differs from China, the US and Europe.
The design element is provided by the Faraday Battery Challenge, with pilot line manufacturing development by the UK Battery Innovation Centre (UKBIC). UKBIC was developing early samples of battery cells for BritishVolt and is hosting AMTE Power to support the next phase of its commercialisation plans for its high power battery cells with up to 60,000 of its Ultra High Power cells a year. However ATME Power is holding a crunch meeting on Monday 4th December regarding £3m of financing to keep the company afloat.
UKBIC last week announced an additional £38m in funding for additional electrode production equipment and the installation of a flexible 800m2 clean & dry Industrialisation space for new manufacturing process demonstration. It is also to develop digital manufacturing to transform how data is analysed for innovative products and processes being scaled up at UKBIC.
The flexible scale-up line will bridge the gap between UKBIC’s existing volume industrialisation line and demonstrator lines and is expected to be operational during 2025.
The UK battery strategy also highlights the materials supply chain, with recent investments into lithium production by British Lithium and French mining giant Imerys as well as Cornish Lithium, but these will take several years to reach the mainstream. It also makes no mention of silicon or solid state battery development where the UK is leading.
- Joint venture to provide lithium carbonate in the UK
- Funds for pilot plant for UK lithium production
The industry has also highlighted that the strategy makes limited mention of battery storage systems which use other materials such as sodium.
“The Government’s new Battery Strategy plays little heed to the growing role of battery energy storage systems (BESS) in keeping the lights on,” says trade association Solar Energy UK.
“The strategy focuses almost entirely on boosting domestic manufacturing of batteries for use in electric vehicles. While this aspect is welcome, not least because the same modules can be used in static installations, the Department for Business and Trade appears to have paid insufficient attention to the fast-growing stationary energy storage sector,” it said.
“The strategy says that demand for BESS is due to rise from 10GWh in 2030 to 20GWh by 2035. But this appears to underplay how fast the sector is growing: 5.1GWh is under construction, with almost 100GWh in the planning pipeline.”
“UK is leading the rest of Europe in the deployment of utility scale batteries and there are several UK manufacturers of residential batteries expanding their operations. By overlooking this rapidly expanding part of the clean energy sector, the Government is missing half the picture with its Battery Strategy,” it said.
- Jaguar Land Rover confirms 40GWh UK battery gigafactory
- £1bn battery gigafactory for UK
- AMTE Power to build UK battery ‘megafactory’ in Dundee
- Inobat looks to third battery Gigafactory in UK, Europe
www.gov.uk; solarenergyuk.org/
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