EV evolution Battery power A year ago, Britishvolt was not even an idea. Now, it is set to change the course of the UKs electric vehicle market. Louise Parfitt finds out more t was over Christmas dinner last year that Lars Carlstrom and Orral Nadjari came up with the idea to build the UKs first electric vehicle (EV) battery gigaplant. One week later, on 31 December 2019, Britishvolt was formed. I am talking to Britishvolts chief governance officer, Martin Reynolds, son of the BPAs Kelvin Reynolds. The pace of progress he is describing is just mind-blowing. The idea came from a discussion about how organisations in Europe are building EV cell-manufacturing facilities, but no one was doing it in the UK, Reynolds explains. Carlstrom and Nadjari felt that needed to change. With no new petrol or diesel cars being sold from 2030 and because OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] plan new cars at least five years in advance it really was about seizing this opportunity. I Team players Britishvolt teamed up with key experts in the market, employed more staff including Reynolds and set about getting plans in place to start building the gigaplant in 2021. It aims to be running by 2023, although its full capacity will not be reached until 2027. At the moment, just three per cent of batteries produced globally are made in Europe the majority are produced in China or the US. Ultimately, if the battery-manufacturing facilities dont come to the UK, the automotive industry will leave and thats hundreds of thousands of jobs gone, says Reynolds. Reducing carbon emissions is key; Reynolds points out that it doesnt make sense to have a vehicle that produces no carbon but that uses a battery produced by a coal-fired plant in China and shipped across the world. We want to lower the carbon footprint embedded in the supply chain by doing as much as we can on site, powered by green energy, We are the first market mover. Just one of these factories will create around 3,000 jobs, and it cements the UKs position in the automotive industry he says. We want to be the greenest EV battery manufacturers in the world. Mover and shaker Britishvolt estimates there needs to be at least four gigaplants in the UK by the early 2030s, just to serve the UK market. Nobody else is interested in building a factory like ours in the UK at this time, says Reynolds. We are the first market mover. Just one of these factories will create around 3,000 jobs, and it cements the UKs position in the automotive industry. Britishvolt is in discussions with OEMs to produce the batteries they want, rather than offering off-the-shelf products. With a wider team of more than 100 consultants, lawyers, engineers and architects on board, Reynolds believes it has some of the best minds in the industry working on this project. Longer term, however, he is keen to reach out and engage young people in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths) subjects, to ensure the company has the scientists and engineers needed for the future. I worked in the police for 12 years and have seen first hand the impact a scheme such as this can have on disaffected youth, and on the community as a whole, so that is really important to me, Reynolds says. We have an ambitious timeline, but in terms of breaking ground we believe well be ready to go by the middle of next year. 32 britishparking.co.uk PN Dec 2020 pp32-33 Britishvolt feature.indd 32 23/11/2020 16:12