Turn the clock back 12 months and it鈥檚 fair to say that the term 鈥榞igafactory鈥 was not in wide usage.
That changed substantially at the end of last year when start-up company Britishvolt pledged to create 3,000 jobs, plus thousands more in the supply chain, with plans for a gigafactory to make batteries for electric vehicles at Cambois, near Blyth in Northumberland.
Last year also saw a feasibility study being launched into the creation of a gigaplant at the Envision AESC battery plant, next to the Nissan factory in Sunderland.
But it is not just locally that gigafactories are top of the political agenda. In March, Labour called on the Government to part-finance of the creation of three new gigafactories by 2025, while Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has said ministers are 鈥100% committed鈥 to having electric car battery gigafactories in the 海角视频.
On the Continent, meanwhile, German automotive giant Volkswagen plans to build six gigafactories across Europe by 2030 to help meet increasing demand for battery cells.
Now a new report from manufacturing consultancy HSSMI has said the 海角视频 must rapidly accelerate the establishment of gigafactories and new battery technology development, or risk losing domestic car production altogether.
鈥淓lectrification is increasing demand for the battery cells and packs powering electric vehicles,鈥 said Axel Bindel, executive director of HSSMI. 鈥淭he 海角视频 in particular is at a pivotal moment. By 2040, there will be a need for 140GWh in battery cell capacity, equivalent to five gigafactories.
鈥淐urrently, however, there is only 3GWh of production in the 海角视频 and, by 2030, just a further 45GWh planned, leaving a major gap 鈥 over 95GWh 鈥 between the rate of battery plant establishment, planning and the forecasted demand. That is where HSSMI can play a crucial role.鈥
Demand for batteries has grown in recent years as more people have switched to electric vehicles. The number of EVs on the road is still low compared to petrol and diesel cars but the Government鈥檚 proposals to ban conventional vehicles by 2035 has sparked a race to produce the batteries.
A further acceleration of that demand came in the post-Brexit trade deal agreed between Britain and the EU on Christmas Eve, which included 鈥榬ules of origin鈥 regulation on the proportion of parts in a car that had to come from the EU or the 海角视频. Most electric batteries currently come from China and would mean vehicles made in this way would not have tariff-free access to the EU market. Battery production in the 海角视频 or the EU has become a matter of urgency for car manufacturers.
Setting up gigafactories is not a simple matter, however, not least because of the finance needed.
Britishvolt needs to secure 拢1.2bn to build its planned factory in Blyth. It is planning two fundraising rounds this year but it also hopeful of securing substantial Government backing.
In some ways the project seems like a no-brainer for the Government: a job creation scheme in a future-facing green industry, with the added bonus of being on the edge of a former 鈥楻ed Wall鈥 constituency it won in the 2019 General Election.
But there will be some nervousness at the amount of money being asked for by a company that did not even exist 18 months ago and so has no track record of delivering such a large and complex project. The resignation of its founding chairman when a fraud conviction in his native Sweden came to light will not have helped either.
One expert in electric vehicles in the North East has called for swift government backing for the Northumberland scheme and other gigafactories.
Dr Colin Herron is MD of low-carbon vehicles consultancy Zero Carbon Futures in Sunderland and a visiting professor at Newcastle University.
He said: 鈥淚f the Government is truly serious about levelling up, tackling climate change, and creating skilled employment for generations to come, it really needs to start putting its money where its mouth is by allocating funding to gigaplants and the associated battery infrastructure.
"Announcements are great but as a nation we need to deliver as there is not a second chance here. Europe is racing ahead building gigaplants as is America and China.
鈥淭he fear of losing the auto sector is not to be taken lightly. The 海角视频 automotive industry is a vital part of the 海角视频 economy worth more than 拢78.9bn turnover and adding 拢15.3bn value to the 海角视频 economy.
鈥淲ithout gigaplants, such as the proposed Britishvolt one in Blyth, we could witness an industry lost. However, by deploying funds in a timely fashion, with minimum bureaucracy, the Government could really nail down the future of 海角视频 plc.
鈥淲e鈥檙e standing on the cusp of history. By commercialising our R&D and academia, the Government can signal to the world that the 海角视频 is fully committed to the next industrial revolution.鈥
Dr Herron is backed by James Ramsbotham, chief executive of the North East England Chamber of Commerce.
He said: 鈥淚f we are to continue to drive the electric vehicle revolution, we need to be able to provide the power cells upon which it all depends. Building a gigaplant, such as that proposed by Britishvolt, is crucial to the long-term success of automotive manufacturing in the 海角视频.
鈥淚t is such an important contributor to our balance of trade and our economic future. As a country, the contribution to our economy and wider society from this cannot be under-estimated and the Government should embrace and support this project in every way.
鈥淭he North East was selected for the manufacture of the first mass-produced all-electric car, the Nissan Leaf. We are proud to have played such a significant part in the early stages of the electric vehicle revolution.
鈥淥ver the last 30 years we have worked hard in this region to build a successful and fully integrated automotive supply chain. Several events during that time have emphasised to us how important it is to have all parts of the automotive sector close at hand to avoid the disruption caused by natural disasters (the tsunami in Japan in 2011), component shortages (the current issues with semi-conductors), logistics complications (Brexit) and many other challenges.
鈥淭his isn鈥檛 the time for flip-flopping. This is the moment for leadership to land the right punches and deliver.
鈥淭his isn鈥檛 just about one gigaplant, this is about the associated industry and all of the jobs, training, upskilling and education that comes with it. So, this won鈥檛 just be losing the auto industry if the Government funding isn鈥檛 executed swiftly, it will be potentially losing the entire ecosystem.
鈥淚鈥檇 much rather be part of history that leads us on a roadmap to net zero, and at the same time delivers jobs to an area that most needs it.鈥
