Tata confirms site for UK gigafactory

Indian conglomerate Tata has bought the land for a £4bn ($5bn) battery factory near Bridgwater, Somerset.

The 40GWh facility will begin production in 2026, creating up to 4,000 jobs, according to a Tata’s battery business Agratas.

"The transformative potential of our factory campus will be realised through a collaborative approach to workforce development. We are looking forward to working with our local and regional partners to enable us to deliver bespoke education and training programmes in the region, creating local jobs for local people,” the firm says

The gigafactory will be Tata’s first outside India and will produce battery cells and packs for commercial energy storage, two-wheelers and EVs manufactured by Tata-owned UK OEM brand Jaguar Land Rover.

The plant will also have a division to recover raw materials from old batteries.

The facility will supply nearly half of the batteries needed in the UK by 2030, according to the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles.

A recent report by a parliamentary committee welcomed the development and said more like it were needed.

"We recommend that the government prioritise securing additional gigafactories to ensure a domestic supply chain, make sure critical minerals are retained in the UK and reduce reliance on imported critical materials,” says the report.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last year called the investment a "vote of confidence" in the country. "This will be one of the largest ever investments in the UK automotive sector," he said.