UK requires EV battery taskforce to retain auto industry: Ex-Aston CEO

London — The UK government needs to step up its efforts to create homegrown electric vehicle battery production, and establish a sector taskforce, or face the possible consequences of losing its auto industry, according to the former Aston Martin CEO, Andy Palmer.

In an open letter to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Palmer called on the UK government to urgently establish a plan to build four gigafactories in the UK within the next five years, or risk losing the entire automotive industry.

In a sobering warning, Palmer cited the Brexit trade deal that dictates that by 2026 EV batteries assembled by UK firms will only be allowed to contain 50% international content or face crippling tariffs on EV exports.

The UK government is targeting the end of sales of new gasoline and diesel cars and vans by 2030, 10 years earlier than planned -- by backing car manufacturing bases in the West Midlands, the northeast and North Wales.

The UK's 10-point climate change plan has the policies to bridge the gap between the aspirations in the Climate Change Committee's sixth carbon budget "and where we are now," Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Kwasi Kwarteng said Jan. 19.

In December the influential CCC recommended a 78% reduction in UK territorial emissions between 1990 and 2035 in its sixth carbon budget report. The new target effectively brings forward the UK's previous 80% reduction target by nearly 15 years.

The chief technical officer of Ireland-based investor Techmet, Simon Gardner-Bond, said the UK government was "highly unlikely" to meet its 10-point plan ambitions, without EV battery gigaplants.

Race against the clock

Palmer stated in his letter that "business sense dictates that the automotive industry will move to where the batteries are, and we are facing a tight race against the clock."

The EU could produce enough battery cells to meet the needs of its electric vehicle industry by 2025, European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic said Nov. 24.

"I am aware that this is a big ask," he said. "If we do manage to achieve this, it will in large part be thanks to the Battery Alliance; a truly collaborative effort requiring the full commitment of all involved."

The European Battery Alliance (EBA) was established in 2017 to develop a globally competitive, innovative and sustainable European battery value chain, which Sefcovic said many people had doubted was possible.

Palmer called on the PM to establish a "Gigafactory Taskforce" to oversee the construction of the UK gigafactories needed in the next five years.

"The time to start constructing these gigafactories is yesterday," he said. "It is of utmost importance that the UK government puts in place the resources and strategic vision required to get these four gigafactories built ... This needs to be a priority if the government is serious about preserving our environment and protecting an industry that provides 800,000 jobs."

Supply chain concerns echoed

In September, Cornish Lithium CEO and founder Jeremy Wrathall aired similar concerns, saying the UK government needed to "step up" and provide a boost to the UK's EV gigaplant ambitions, otherwise the country faced a "bleak" EV manufacturing future.

At present only one company is preparing to deliver the UK's first gigaplant, start-up Britishvolt.

Late last year the company confirmed the plant will be built in Blyth, Northumberland, with construction planned to commence in summer 2021. An investment of GBP2.6 billion ($3.5 billion) is required to bring the project to fruition, marking the largest auto-related investments in the country since the 1980s.

Initial production is scheduled for 2023, with construction of further phases out to 2027 as output of EV batteries ramps up.

Speaking to S&P Global Platts, Britishvolt CEO Orral Nadjari said the plant was "a big step forward in the UK's plans to decarbonize."

"We believe that this investment will help the country's ambitions to phase out traditional ICE [internal combustion engines] vehicles," he said. "These are no small statements and private sector and government must collaborate for success."

The UK is in a strong position to build out a local EV battery supply chain, and is also in need of cell manufacturing capacity to meet growing demand, Jay Nagley, who works in research and development on the automotive team at the UK Department for International Trade, said Dec. 9.