Ricardo to assess battery facility for niche volume manufacturers

According to Ricardo, these UK electrified vehicle manufacturers include some of the world’s best known prestige brands which create their luxury cars, special vehicles, or off-highway machines for a customer base in the low thousands.

Opinion: UK needs to address looming skills gap in battery technologies

Funded by the Advanced Propulsion Centre’s Automotive Transformation Fund supported by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the economic study will consider how to meet the particular battery hardware needs of these manufacturers across business sectors by ensuring a UK supply chain in electric vehicle components.

Martin Starkey, managing director for Ricardo Performance Products said: “The volume requirements and flexible product specifications of niche volume manufacturers are not aligned with the high-volume outputs from emerging ‘gigafactories’.

“A niche volume battery manufacturing facility will help to establish a robust supply chain for these critical electrification components. In doing so, it will deliver national competitive advantage for the UK, and support the mass adoption of electrification by making it more affordable, helping to contribute to the green bounce back through sustainable practices. Ricardo’s future manufacturing strategy is very much aligned to this emerging need for electrified vehicle components.”