Battery cell manufacturer, AMTE Power, has selected Dundee as the preferred site for its first MegaFactory in a boost to the UK’s ambitions to produce homegrown battery cells for a net zero society.
The new factory will directly create up to 215 high skilled on-site jobs and 800 more across the supply chain by producing the high performance battery cells needed to help electrify vehicles, homes, and industries for the UK’s energy transition.
AMTE Power remains one of the only companies in the UK currently producing battery cells and the proposed new site at Dundee’s Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc (MSIP) would ensure the business can rapidly scale up to mass manufacturing volumes.
The MegaFactory will complement AMTE Power’s existing facility in Thurso, Caithness, enabling the company to respond to high levels of interest in its cells from customers in the automotive and energy storage markets and get them to market quicker.
Following the proposed state-of-the art fit out of an existing building at MSIP, AMTE Power’s 0.5GWh plant could be operational and in production by the third quarter of 2025 based on current planned timings.
MegaFactories are smaller than gigafactories and can, therefore, be constructed and become operational much faster. They have the additional benefit of being able to use existing infrastructure providing more flexibility in location, requiring less investment and a faster path to profitability. Due to the high value nature of AMTE’s products, a factory can be profitable at a smaller scale than the size of factories at multiple GWh size.
Commenting on the investment, Kevin Brundish, CEO, AMTE Power, said, “Battery cells are fundamental to enabling the UK’s energy transition and with this investment, we will play a key role in electrifying the vehicles, homes and industries of the future. The site at Dundee is the ideal location for a MegaFactory, it has local industry knowledge and is close to our current and future customers in energy storage. We look forward to updating all stakeholders on our progress.”
