The UK government and the Indian conglomerate Tata Group said on Wednesday that the firm will invest more than £4 billion ($5.2 billion) in a massive battery plant in southwest England that will generate thousands of jobs.
“Tata Group will be setting up one of Europe’s largest battery cell manufacturing facilities in the UK. Our multi-billion-pound investment will bring state-of-the-art technology to the country,” said Tata chairman N. Chandrasekaran.
Somerset will host the factory, the Tata Group’s first gigafactory outside of India, after Somerset apparently defeated competition from Spain.
The facility is scheduled to start producing in 2026.
The investment will increase the UK’s capacity for producing batteries, which is essential for sustaining the electric vehicle sector.
Beginning in 2030, Britain intends to outlaw the sale of new, highly polluting diesel and gasoline automobiles, forcing the country’s auto industry to move to the production of electric vehicles.
Its long-standing objective to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050 in order to combat climate change includes that target.
