London, April 10 Agratas, Tata Group's global battery business, will receive a grant worth 380 million pounds to build one of the largest gigafactories in Europe in southwest England, the UK government has said.
UK Business Secretary Peter Kyle announced the investment during a visit on Thursday to the company's Somerset site, which will support 4,200 direct jobs and thousands more in the supply chain.
The project will also create 300 apprenticeships supported by a specialized battery manufacturing training unit to meet the company's gigafactory and the wider battery sector's specialized skills needs.
"We welcome the UK government's investment as we build a battery manufacturing facility that will play a vital role in achieving net zero and strengthening the UK's position as a global leader in battery manufacturing," said Earl Wiggins, Vice President for Manufacturing Operations at Agratas UK.
"This funding will support the development of our Somerset facility, enabling us to produce battery cells for our key customer, JLR (Tata Motors' Jaguar Land Rover). Over the next year, we will have over 2,200 people working on the site, and this growth will continue in the coming years," he said.
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) noted that the Agratas project will strengthen economic security and reduce Britain's reliance on imports by boosting domestic battery production and generating around 43 billion pounds in economic growth over a 25-year period when the facility is fully operational.
"This government is backing the industries of the future by investing in auto firms, SMEs, and battery manufacturers across the country – helping to boost economic growth and our resilience, secure jobs, and put more money in people's pockets," said Kyle.
"In a volatile world, our modern industrial strategy is providing investors with the stability and confidence they need to plan not just for the next year, but for the next 10 years and beyond," he said.
Agratas said construction at its site in Somerset is progressing "at a fast pace." The steel framework for Building One, which was made using 100 per cent British steel, has now been completed, and cladding is currently being installed to form the building shell.
"Once fully operational, the Somerset facility is expected to generate approximately 43 billion pounds in economic value over a 25-year period," the company said.
Meanwhile, DBT said the government is injecting 47 million pounds worth of support for key R&D battery projects through the Battery Innovation Programme – designed to create skilled jobs, a stronger supply chain, and position the UK as a globally competitive destination for battery manufacturing.
It said that auto businesses will also benefit from a 190 million pounds boost to ensure the UK's automotive industry remains ahead of the competition on the global stage.
"Startups and well-established firms, including Nissan and Jaguar Land Rover, have been awarded 90 million pounds in DRIVE35 funding to ramp up innovative prototype and cutting-edge projects – strengthening firms' technological capabilities and improving the affordability of EVs for customers," it stated.
The Tata Group had set up Agratas as a subsidiary to oversee England as the location for the company's first gigafactory outside India.
Derived from the Sanskrit word 'agra', the company's name, combined with "gravitas," stands for leadership and moving forward and reflects an ambition to be a pioneering power for future generations.
