Nissan expected to announce plans to build battery giga factory in Sunderland | Car industry

Japanese carmaker Nissan will this week confirm its plans to build a battery-gig factory in Sunderland, providing a significant post-Brexit job and investment boost to the pressured car sector in the UK.

Nissan, in partnership with Chinese specialist Envision AESC, pledges to build as many as 200,000 batteries for electric vehicles in the UK each year.

The site is expected to open in 2024 and produce 6 gigawatt hours (6 GWh) of battery capacity per year, far more than the 1.9 Gwh at the existing plant in Sunderland, but eclipsed by Tesla’s 35 GWh gigafactory in Nevada.

A Nissan spokesperson declined to comment on the likelihood of an announcement this week, which was first reported by Sky News.

The UK government has previously held talks with six manufacturers about building electric car battery plants known as gigafactories in a bid to prop up the coronavirus-affected car industry and meet a 2030 deadline for a ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars.

Ford and Korean electronics conglomerates LG and Samsung are among the companies that have also had early discussions with government or local authorities, it is understood.

British battery company BritishVolt aims to be the first company to open a gigafactory in the UK, in a converted coal-fired power station in Blyth, Northumberland.

But a significant investment promise from a well-known name like Nissan, potentially creating hundreds or even thousands of jobs, is likely to bolster governments’ efforts to show that the UK can attract investment in sectors such as car manufacturing that are tipped to severely affected by Brexit.

Nissan has already backed the government once after the carmaker approved Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal in January.

The company had previously warned that a no-deal scenario could force it to leave the UK altogether.

But, amid assurances from ministers that Brexit would not affect its trade, the company also pushed through a $400 million investment to build the new Qashqai SUV in Sunderland, where it will also produce the Juke model and its electric car. , the Leaf, builds.

It is unclear whether Nissan has been promised financial support from state resources in return for its continued investment in Sunderland.

Last month, when plans for the gigafactory first emerged, the company was said to seek millions in taxpayer support.

His advocacy puts the UK automotive sector in a difficult position due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

UK car production fell to its lowest level since 1984 due to the economic slowdown last year, although Nissan overtook Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) as the largest manufacturer in the UK car sector.

But electric vehicles have provided a glimmer of hope, provided the UK can secure investment in the technology.

In May, energy regulator Ofgem approved a 300 million investment wave to help triple the number of ultra-fast electric car charging stations across the country, as part of efforts to accelerate the UK’s clean energy transition.

While Nissan’s investment will likely be seized upon by the government as proof that its Brexit deal and industrial strategy are working, Shadow Labor Secretary Ed Miliband will have an opportunity on Tuesday to question that story.

Miliband is one of the speakers at an international summit to be organized on Tuesday by the auto trade organization Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

Secretary of State Kwasi Kwarteng will also speak, as will Thierry Bollor, chief executive of JLR, the UK’s largest car company until the pandemic hit.

A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) declined to comment on whether Nissan would announce a gigafactory this week.