Britishvolt / November 2022 / Energy Focus

Powering the Transition to a Carbon-Free Future

PRODUCTION: James Davey

Proudly British and passionately global, Britishvolt is on an unswerving mission to accelerate the electrification of society. Its overarching ambition is to create some of the planet’s most responsibly manufactured battery cells, primarily to power electric vehicles, and collaborations with academia, industry and private enterprise will help the UK to transition from fossil fuels to a low carbon, battery-based electric future.

INDUSTRY FOCUS: ELECTRICITY

//The UK has been at the forefront of global investment in technology development and innovation since the industrial revolution. It is the ideal base for Britishvolt, with the development of current and future generations of battery technology pinpointed as of strategic importance to the country’s manufacturing sector, and key to sustaining its lucrative domestic automotive industry.

According to APC research, by 2030 the UK will need over 90GWh per annum of batteries for cars and light commercials alone, and represents over 11% of the total demand across Europe. British consumers bought more electric cars in 2021 than the previous five years combined, a trajectory set to only accelerate, Britishvolt is the UK’s foremost investor in battery cell technologies and associated R&D to develop homegrown intellectual property.

“The race to zero is an imperative for society, and batteries are core

to a successful energy transition,” Britishvolt stipulates, “and the move to a low carbon future will bring with it huge opportunities. Sales for electric vehicles continue to strengthen and domestic batteries are a vital ingredient in meeting this demand.”

GIGAPLANT POWERS AHEAD

“We do indeed have global ambitions,” the company states, “but the UK will always be where it all started.” Headquartered in the heartland of the UK automotive industry, the Midlands, with easy access to vehicle manufacturers as well as research partners at Warwick Manufacturing Group, also ideally situated on the best site in the UK is Britishvolt’s 30GWh battery Gigaplant, fully plugged into the national grid and ready to go.

“It is logical to build any battery cell manufacturing site as close to a renewable energy source as possible, in order to counter the energy intensity of the production process,” Britishvolt reasons, “and in Northumberland

renewable energy is plentiful; the entire area fully embodies the transition to a low carbon future.”

One of the UK’s biggest-ever industrial investments, and the largest in the North East of England since Nissan’s arrival in 1984, has enabled Britishvolt to power ahead with its historic plans with funding from the UK Government through its Automotive Transformation Fund. The ATF funding is critical to Britishvolt’s plans to build the £3.8 billion advanced technology battery cell Gigaplant, which will result in over 3000 skilled direct jobs onsite at full production, plus a further

// THE RACE TO ZERO IS AN IMPERATIVE FOR SOCIETY, AND BATTERIES ARE CORE TO A SUCCESSFUL ENERGY TRANSITION //

5000 in the wider supplier chain.

Delight accompanied the confirmation of the funding, which will help propel the UK’s successful energy transition on the road to zero, for Isobel Sheldon OBE, Chief Strategy Officer, Britishvolt. “This is great news

for our plans to construct the UK’s premier battery cell Gigaplant in Northumberland,” she recognised. “The ATF’s grant funding is very important in proving that the UK Government is confident that we will deliver on our plans, and this will help to

generate further private investment.

“The Britishvolt Gigaplant will create both the jobs and the industry of the future, strengthening the UK’s technological base and playing a key role in helping the country reach its net zero target by 2050.”

Britishvolt’s private partnerships to date have been equally strong and important, not least in its selection of BTR as its key synthetic graphite and silicon oxide supplier, with processing powered on clean, renewable hydroelectricity. It followed securing a portion of its cobalt requirements from strategic partner Glencore and the announcement of a JV with Indonesia’s VKTR for nickel sulphate.

“Not only do we benefit from the technical expertise of BTR, now and in the future,” lauded Timon Orlob, Global COO, “but we also benefit from their global strategy concerning their manufacturing location and up-stream material plans.

“We were always committed to shaping global supply chains, and with this collaboration with BTR we are achieving that.” Britishvolt has strengthened a longstanding partnership by extending its

INDUSTRY FOCUS: ELECTRICITY

contract with WMG, University of Warwick, to develop battery cell technologies and accelerate the route to market in a multi-millionpound deal. A two-year programme of work will assist with battery cell development and optimisation and help Britishvolt to ramp up availability for electric vehicles, and other applications, in the UK and beyond.

“The battery science, advanced

materials and cell prototyping expertise and capability at WMG has directly, and positively, supported our battery technology development programme,” explained Dr Allan Paterson, Chief Technical Officer at Britishvolt. “The relationship enables Britishvolt to continue to develop our products further, as we continually strive to deliver best-in-class, market-leading, cell technologies to our customers.”

WMG: Research with Impact, Education for Life

WMG at the University of Warwick has worked with industry for the last 40 years, driving technology innovation to improve the productivity, resilience and sustainability of UK manufacturing.

Since 2011 de-risking innovation for UK manufacturing has been our mission as one of the founding members of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult.

With a depth of industry experience and fundamental scientific knowledge, we help solve operational and technical challenges, by both pushing the boundaries of technology and transferring knowledge into sectors including automotive, motorsport, logistics, defence, aerospace, micromobility and rail.

The work undertaken by the WMG Energy Directorate focusses on the research challenges that underpin the UK’s strategy for de-carbonisation of the transport sector and energy network.

WMG’s unique facilities and expertise has been developed to respond to the need to establish a strategic UK based battery manufacturing sector to enable the transition to electrification and global competitiveness. We have the capabilities to scale-up fundamental research in electrochemistry to system-scale solutions for integration with energy conversion devices and electrical machines across a range of applications.

WMG can help a business in any sector develop novel battery chemistries tailored to the intended real-world application. From benchtop volumes of materials, we can scale to industry-relevant quantities, and integrate into cell formats with the WMG BSU battery pilot line. From there we can take the cells to modules and packs, and then to total systems that are ready for the final application.

We have the capabilities for multi-domain testing and characterisation from cells to complete battery packs that encompasses electrical, thermal and mechanical performance characterisation.

LEADING BATTERY ECOSYSTEM

In further evidence of the Britishvolt business model of partnering early with customers and tailoring solutions, Britishvolt and Aston Martin have collaborated to develop high performance battery technology. It brings together two innovative leaders in UK engineering to create the next generation of cell and battery technology designed specifically for

We can undertake full life and ageing assessment of battery cells and systems, as well as abuse testing and safety evaluation of battery components and systems.

We are experienced in the development and use of Digital Twins to support cell evaluation, system control (BMS), concept evaluation, ageing and degradation and safety, as well as use of battery cell instrumentation to underpin advanced characterisation of battery cells. We consider the circular economy of battery systems from reuse in 2nd life applications, to recycling and materials recovery.

From project inception we use our industrial experience to design the manufacturing and engineering processes that enable a seamless transition of cutting-edge research into practice.

In addition to our research activities the WMG Skills Centre is available to help address the skills shortage facing businesses and industry, both regionally and nationally.

WMG’s vast portfolio of industrial research projects means we understand that education needs to have an immediate impact on both business productivity and career progression for individuals.

Our short courses are tailored to the needs of our industry, re-skilling and upskilling experienced employees to bring future skills to business today in key areas, including Engineering, Technology, Supply Chain, Automotive Electrification, Automotive Battery Engineering, Automotive Power Electronics & Motor Drives, and Digital Manufacturing.

To learn more about WMG’s research and how we can help your business contact us at: wmgbusiness@warwick.ac.uk

Find out about more of our successful research projects on our website: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/wmg/

Or to find out more about the range of courses at our WMG Skills Centre visit: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/wmg/skillscentre

DRIVING ELECTRIFICATION INNOVATION WITHIN UK INDUSTRY

wmgbusiness@warwick.ac.uk

high performance cars, as the ultraluxury carmaker takes another key step in its journey to electrification.

“This collaboration once again highlights the value of working hand-in-glove with customers to co-develop and manufacture tailored, sustainable, localised battery cells,” opined Orral Nadjari, CEO and Founder of Britishvolt. “We are excited about the prospect of an all-electric Aston Martin powered by Britishvolt’s low carbon, sustainable battery cells.”

West Midlands is home to the internationally renowned battery ecosystem of WMG, Advanced Propulsion Centre and UK Battery Industrialisation Centre, and Britishvolt has now partnered with logistics real estate operator Prologis to build its UK battery cell scale-up facilities to unify its Northumberland Gigaplant

with a centrally located scale-up and technology hub. Investment exceeding £200 million will create and sustain upwards of 150 technology jobs, and enable Britishvolt to rapidly ramp up cells that are production ready to be manufactured in larger volumes.

The ‘Battery Corridor’ concept enhances the UK’s existing battery ecosystem, while the Hams Hall is destined to become a centre of excellence for all things EV and electrification, with major automakers close by. “These new R&D and scale-up facilities will help the UK build on its home-grown battery intellectual property and level up the country ready for the energy transition,” assessed Paul Franklin, Property Director, Britishvolt. “The UK’s battery ecosystem is a global leader in integrated technology development and industrialisation.”

Only through working with leading strategic partners and suppliers will Britishvolt achieve its vision of a future of electrified transportation and sustainable energy storage, producing best-in-class, low-carbon, sustainable and responsibly manufactured lithiumion battery solutions. “Collaboration is key on our quest to a low-carbon future,” Britishvolt acknowledges.

“Technology is paramount to keeping the UK at the vanguard of the global battery revolution; the time is now to carve a name for the UK as a global battery champion.

“Britishvolt will be at the very heart of that revolution.”

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