Electric battery firm AESC has confirmed it is set to collaborate with Nissan following the global car manufacturer’s announcement of a further £2bn into new vehicle production.

Nissan announced on Friday that it would produce two new all-electric vehicle models at its Sunderland plant, safeguarding thousands of jobs in the North East for many years into the future. The Japanese car maker’s new electric Qashqai and Juke models will be manufactured alongside the Leaf at Nissan’s Sunderland following an additional £1.1bn investment from Nissan. Government investment is also set to be announced in due course, although the level of taxpayer investment has yet to be concluded.

The project will also see the construction of a new gigafactory to produce batteries for the vehicles, all of which will be powered by renewable energy. As part of the announcement, AESC, the Japan-based global leader in electric vehicle battery innovation – which has been making batteries for the company since 2013 – confirmed it is set to collaborate with Nissan in the development of its electric vehicle platforms. The company has initiated a feasibility study to explore potential further gigafactory investments in the UK.

Lei Zhang, AESC chairman said: “In order to meet increasing battery demand from Nissan, AESC, renowned for its expertise in high performance batteries, has embarked on a strategic feasibility study focused on the potential expansion of our gigafactory operations in Sunderland. This initiative, which underscores our enduring partnership with Nissan, is a testament to AESC’s commitment to fostering innovation and propelling sustainable automotive solutions in the UK.”

The new gigafactory partner has yet to be revealed but Nissan confirmed it is in talks with AESC. AESC is currently constructing a second gigafactory next door to its current plan. The new building will be a £450m, 23-football pitch sized plant which was first unveiled back in 2021 as part of Nissan’s initial 36Zero announcement.

Alan Johnson, senior vice president for manufacturing, was quizzed last week over whether there is a chance Nissan could change battery supplier for the third gigafactory.

He said: “The gigafactory we have got, and the one we are building as we speak, do not have the capacity for three new models, so there’s going to be an additional gigafactory. Simply speaking, it’s going to have to be the same size as the one we are building, so that’s another 23 football pitches worth of battery plant. The intention is it will be built on IAMP across the road, adjacent to the one under construction now.

“AESC is our partner, the one under construction is AESC, the first one operating now is AESC, we are in discussion with AESC. We have a partnership. But there’s a long way to go. There’s a lot of commercial discussion, a lot of business to be secured before we can be certain. But of course it would be bizarre if we weren’t talking to AESC about our future expansion.”