Volklec, a UK start-up supported by former Britishvolt investors, is collaborating with a Chinese supplier to establish a 10GWh gigafactory with an investment of more than £1bn ($1.26bn) .
The Coventry-based company, backed by Frontive Group, plans to avoid past pitfalls of other battery manufacturers by securing customers and batteries first, before moving to construction.
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The gigafactory project aims to revitalise the UK’s battery manufacturing sector.
Volklec has signed a technology and knowledge transfer agreement with China-based Far East Battery, a subsidiary of Far East Smart Energy, to leverage its engineering, manufacturing expertise and raw material supplies.
Volklec will manufacture advanced lithium-ion batteries in the UK.
A delivery partnership team of specialists from FEB in China will support production, due to begin later in 2025, from Volklec’s launch base at the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC).
The company aims to raise £1bn to construct a 10 gigawatt hours (GWh) factory, creating 1,000 jobs by 2030.
If successful, it would become the country’s only large-scale independent battery manufacturer following UK battery manufacturer Britishvolt’s collapse in 2023.
Volklec executive director Phil Popham stated: “There is an urgent need for new independent manufacturers to secure the battery supply chain in the UK. There is no greater transformation today than the electric revolution in transport and mobility, and the British start-up scene is thriving, from motorsport to heavy-duty off-highway and most things in between.
“But there is a substantial gap in the supply chain. The UK is particularly strong in the specialist and high-performance sectors which need surety of supply with quality and reliability. Our mission is to help these innovators thrive.”
Volklec plans to initially begin producing cylindrical nickel-rich battery cells for e-bikes and energy storage, followed by the production of power cells for the automotive, aerospace and marine sectors.
Volklec will use UKBIC’s existing 100 megawatt hours line to manufacture the energy cell, with a further 1GWh line to be installed by the end of 2026 for power cell production.
The company is in negotiations with potential customers, intending to serve low-volume manufacturers who are unable to build their own gigafactories.
