Warwick wins £80m for national battery development facility

　　A partnership between WMG, Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership and Coventry City Council has been awarded ?80million to establish a new National Battery Manufacturing Development Facility (NBMDF).

　　The NBMDF is intended to enable UK based companies and researchers to come together to build and maintain a world leading position in manufacturing technologies for batteries and their components in vehicles and transportation. It will provide a strategic link between the research, development and full-scale industrialisation for battery technologies across the UK.

　　Professor Lord Bhattacharyya, WMG's chair, said: “We are delighted to have been successful in the bid to create this new national battery facility here in the Midlands. Working with industry and the supply chain we will develop and expand battery R&D which will see the creation of skilled jobs and developments within the automotive sector.

　　“Having a 37 year track record of working jointly with industry to innovate, and as leaders, for over 10 years, in battery development, WMG are poised to continue to drive forward battery innovation and help create growth and employment in the UK.”

　　The facility will enable the development of the next generation of battery systems across battery chemistry, electrodes, cell design, module and pack levels. Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark said: “Battery technology is … one of the cornerstones of our ambition, through the Industrial Strategy and the Faraday Challenge, to ensure that the UK leads the world, and reaps the economic benefits, in the global transition to a low carbon economy.”