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.