Taiwanese battery manufacturer considers UK for $8bn gigafactory

Taiwanese solid-state battery specialist ProLogium has announced the UK is on its shortlist for an $8 billion (£6.9bn) investment for the establishment of its first overseas factory. The firm expects the battery plant to be one of Europe’s biggest, targeting 120GWh of total battery production capacity when complete. For reference, the Volkswagen Group announced last year that it was targeting a total of 240GWh (split across six European facilities) by 2030. According to ProLogium, the new factory will create thousands of skilled jobs both in the short and long term: building the site itself, in battery production, and in the wider supply chain. A partnership with Accuracy, a financial and strategic consulting firm, kicks off the plans with a feasibility study for locations in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and the UK. Criteria considered for the chosen country include the strength of the existing electric vehicle infrastructure and supply chain, as well as its energy security, access to renewable energy sources and the local talent pool. ProLogium CEO Vincent Yang said: “For most Asian companies actively going abroad, one of the keys to success is a solid foundation rooted in strategic planning. “Site selection requires not only the right technology and solutions for that market, but also in-depth knowledge of local market demands and trends.” ProLogium’s site selection will also be affected by the incentives available for its investment. Autocar recently reported that British firm Eurocell’s decision to build a battery factory in the Netherlands was due to a lack of support from the UK government. According to Eurocell chief commercial officer Nick Clay, the firm “couldn’t get a straight answer” as to whether UK-EU shipments would be affected by new ‘rules of origin’ for batteries. These mandate a certain level of locally sourced content in any UK-made products. Clay also highlighted that “France, Portugal and Spain all have access to the EU funding for battery facilities”. This could give the former two an edge over the UK in Accuracy and ProLogium’s considerations. Zaheer Minhas, a partner at Accuracy, said that “competition to secure the site is already fierce” and that it will be “transformative for the chosen region”, introducing “high-quality, environmentally friendly jobs for years to come”. ProLogium will make a final decision on its chosen site by the second quarter of 2023. To date, the firm has delivered around 8000 cells ranging from 50Ah to 60Ah (the capacity of the original BMW i3) to OEMs for testing and certification. The company currently has a technology cooperation agreement with Mercedes-Benz and has partnered Chinese EV maker Nio and Vietnamese marque Vinfast to develop solid-state batteries for use in cars.