Coventry puts forward ‘mission critical’ plan for electric car battery plant – by Jillian Ambrose (The Guardian – July 15, 2021)

https://www.theguardian.com/

Plans for a “mission critical” electric car battery plant in Coventry have accelerated in a drive to keep automotive production at the heart of the West Midlands region.

Coventry city council has put forward a blueprint for a 5.7m square feet “gigafactory”, which could create up to 6,000 new jobs, in partnership with Coventry airport where the plant would be located.

The joint venture first revealed its plans in February with the hope of submitting planning permission by the end of the year and attracting an experienced manufacturer to start production by 2025.

Andy Street, the mayor of the West Midlands, said: “It is mission critical that the West Midlands secures a gigafactory, both for the future of our region’s automotive industry and the huge economic and job benefits it would bring, as well as the future of our planet.

“The West Midlands is already home to the country’s biggest car manufacturer, Europe’s largest research centre of its kind, the UK’s only battery industrialisation centre, and a world-leading supply chain.

For the rest of this article: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jul/15/coventry-puts-forward-mission-critical-plan-for-electric-car-battery-plant