North East must punch its weight on battery funding, top industry voice says

The North East must secure more Government funding proportionate to its battery production potential, an industry expert has said.

Dr Colin Herron, a professor at Newcastle University and of the North East office of battery research body the Faraday Institution, says that funding so far received in the region does not currently reflect the level of activity happening or planned. On the back of a new UK Battery Strategy published by the Government, the founder of the North East Battery Alliance said the region must work to secure financial support for projects such as Newcastle University's proposed Electrification Process Innovation Centre - a membership organisation that aims to bring innovation to electrification processes.

Published after Nissan revealed the need for a third gigafactory to feed its North East site and while the future of the former Britishvolt project remains uncertain, the strategy sets out a number of priorities in pursuit of the Government's 2030 vision of creating a globally competitive battery supply chain. It also includes commitment to invest £50m into UK research, including a £12m sum into the Advanced Materials Battery Industrialisation Centre, a battery materials scale-up organisation which involves CPI (the Centre for Process Innovation in the North East).

Ministers have also said the Government will put £11m into 20 competition winners developing technologies such as artificial intelligence, digital battery performance tools, sodium-ion batteries, lithium-metal nodes and recycling systems. The document has prompted a mixed response from the industry with some showing cautious optimism and others saying the amounts pale in comparison to international competitors.

Commenting in the wake of the strategy, Mr Herron said it was a "step forward in securing a viable battery industry in the UK. He told BusinessLive: "The North East has the only functioning gigaplant in the country with one under construction and another announced. The global demand for batteries is expected to rise dramatically over the coming decades and the North East is uniquely positioned to seize the opportunity thanks to our key areas of comparative advantage: lithium mining, processing, cell production, pack production, vehicle production, second life and recycling.

"Newcastle University has just secured £1.3m to work with New College Durham to deliver the first National Battery Skills Centre required to enable the battery plants to be operated. Through the Faraday Institution, and the North East Battery Alliance new research is being undertaken to deliver the required support ecosystem within all the regions universities.

"The work the region is undertaking on batteries has been recognised by the awarding of the Faraday Institution Battery Conference in September 2024, which will see the top UK and international academics/scientists convene in Newcastle for three days. The challenge for the region is now to secure government investment in projects such as the proposed Electrification Process Innovation Centre (EPIC) to enable the regions full potential to be delivered. It is fair to say that, the funding received in the region does not reflect the level of GDP being generated or planned in the region, and that needs to change."

Industry Minister Nusrat Ghani said: "Growing the battery industry is vital to positioning the UK as the best location in the world to manufacture electric vehicles, and building on the confidence we’ve given our supply chain through recent successes such as the investments from Tata, BMW and Nissan, plus the wealth of government support available to businesses. I wanted to be ahead of the curve in working with Industry to produce a Battery Strategy. This will help businesses become more innovative and productive, future-proofing our economy and supporting our ambition towards a cleaner, greener future, and forms a crucial part of our Advanced Manufacturing Plan to back British industry for the long term."