More than £7 billion has been committed to Britain’s emerging electric vehicle battery supply chain, according to a report published by independent transport research organisation New AutoMotive, revealing how the UK has quietly built one of Europe’s most diverse and innovative battery ecosystems.
The report, titled, The UK’s EV Battery Economy: A strategic review of the UK’s battery manufacturing sector, authored by Ciara Cook and Ben Nelmes, provides a comprehensive audit of the UK’s battery economy. The analysis tracks more than 14 major commercial projects spanning lithium extraction and chemical refining, large-scale cell gigafactories, cutting-edge materials science, and next-generation hydrometallurgical battery recycling.
Together, the UK’s battery supply chain already generates £4.2 billion in annual turnover and supports over 10,000 direct, high-value jobs across regional industrial hubs.
A Nationwide industrial cluster
The report highlights how battery investments are breathing new life into Britain’s industrial heartlands:
- Gigafactory Manufacturing: Anchored by Envision AESC’s expanding 15.8GWh facility in Sunderland and Agratas’s landmark £4 billion, 40GWh facility currently under construction in Somerset to supply Jaguar Land Rover.
- Domestic Mineral Extraction: Pioneering lithium extraction projects from Cornish Lithium in the South West and geothermal brines in County Durham (Northern Lithium and Weardale Lithium), establishing sovereign domestic supplies.
- Chemical Refining Hubs: State-of-the-art commercial refining facilities planned by Tees Valley Lithium (£185m plant at Wilton/Billingham) and Green Lithium (Teesport) to process battery-grade lithium hydroxide on British soil.
- Midlands Innovation: The shovel-ready 60GWh GreenPower Park at Coventry Airport, offering a prime European location for the UK’s next major cell manufacturing partnership.
Britain’s unique ‘captive’ recycling superpower
In addition to primary manufacturing, the report reveals an extraordinary, structural competitive advantage in battery recycling and circular economy minerals.
With the UK electric vehicle fleet officially surpassing two million vehicles on the road in August 2026 — and electric cars achieving a 30% monthly market share — Britain possesses an immense, rapidly expanding reservoir of critical minerals. Crucially, two distinct structural factors give the UK an edge over continental competitors: Britain is an island, and it drives on the left.
Because right-hand-drive vehicles registered in the UK are rarely exported second-hand across borders, retired EV batteries overwhelmingly remain within the UK. This creates a “captive domestic feedstock” of high-grade lithium, nickel, and cobalt. Domestic hydrometallurgical recyclers — such as Altilium (operating in Plymouth and expanding to Teesside) and Recyclus Group (Wolverhampton) — can recover over 95% of these strategic materials at 50% lower carbon emissions than virgin mining, supplying domestic gigafactories with low-carbon, circular raw materials.
Maintaining policy certainty: The pro-business choice
With billions already invested and billions more in the pipeline, the report argues that now is the time to build on Britain’s momentum, warning that policy hesitation or watering down the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate risks undermining investor confidence in one of the defining growth sectors of the 21st century.
By 2035, the UK will require approximately 115GWh of battery cells each year for domestic automotive production and energy storage. While confirmed capacity covers around 60GWh, the report stresses that the most effective way to attract the additional 2 to 3 gigafactories needed to close this gap is by providing rock-solid domestic demand certainty.
Ben Nelmes, CEO at New AutoMotive, said, “The UK has built real momentum in the battery supply chain, securing over £7 billion in investment for projects that will drive our industrial future. Delaying or diluting the EV transition now would directly undermine investor confidence, putting those billions of pounds, thousands of skilled jobs, and our broader competitive edge at risk. Businesses need a stable, long-term policy framework to build these factories and secure Britain’s role as a leader in the global clean energy transition.”
5 Priority Actions to Back British Battery Manufacturing
To safeguard the £7bn investment pipeline and secure Britain’s battery future, New AutoMotive outlines five priority policy recommendations:
- Hold firm on the ZEV mandate: Provide unwavering domestic market certainty to give debt and equity investors the confidence needed to finance multi-decade battery manufacturing plants.
- Deliver competitive industrial electricity prices: Implement the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) on schedule by April 2027 to lower power costs by £35 to £40 per MWh for energy-intensive battery chemical refiners.
- Deploy Minister-led deal-making for Coventry: Appoint a dedicated minister and negotiating taskforce to actively engage global cell manufacturers and secure an anchor tenant for Coventry’s 60GWh GreenPower Park.
- Retain strategic feedstock in the UK: Restrict exports of unprocessed black mass to feed domestic hydrometallurgical recycling refineries, keeping critical raw materials within the British industrial economy.
- Modernise waste laws & introduce battery passports: Conclude Defra’s consultation on updated battery regulations and mandate Digital Battery Passports by 2027 to facilitate second-life storage and closed-loop domestic recycling.
