Tata confirms location of Britain’s biggest battery factory which will supply JLR
Agratas, Tata Group’s global battery business, has announced where it will build Britain’s biggest electric vehicle battery manufacturing facility, which will serve JLR's drive unit and battery pack factory in the West Midlands.
The plant will be built close to the M5 at the Gravity Smart Campus, near Bridgwater, in Somerset.
Agratas is holding an introductory event in the coming weeks for locals to learn more about the company and meet the team.
Batteries from the multi-billion pound site will be transported, via the M5, M6 and M54, to JLR's electric propulsion manufacturing centre at the i54 to the north of Wolverhampton, where electric drive units will be put together.
Partnering with local and regional organisations, Agratas intends to deliver bespoke training programmes to realise the full potential of its investment, creating local jobs.
The news follows an announcement last year that the UK had been chosen as the home of Tata Group’s first gigafactory outside India.
A significant land holding has been acquired at Gravity, making Agratas the first and primary occupier on the site.
The 40 gigawatt hours factory is set to be the biggest battery factory in the country and by the early 2030s will contribute almost half of the projected battery manufacturing capacity required for the UK automotive sector.
The factory will create up to 4,000 new high-skilled green tech jobs in the area, with many thousands more expected to be created in the UK supply chain.
Tom Flack, chief executive of Agratas, said: “Our multi-billion-pound investment will bring state-of-the-art technology to Somerset, helping to supercharge Britain’s transition to electric mobility whilst creating thousands of jobs in the process.
“We care deeply about the communities we operate in, so it’s imperative to us that we work with, and listen to, our new neighbours as we build our factory in Somerset.
“That’s why we’ll be holding an event for local residents very soon, so we can share more about our plans and introduce our team to the community.”
Preliminary works on the site are in progress, with piling to establish the factory’s foundations set to start in the spring.
Construction will be completed in phases, with battery production set to begin in 2026.
JLR and Tata Motors will be Agratas’s first customers. Agratas also plans to create batteries for other applications, including two-wheelers and commercial vehicles, as well as commercial energy storage solutions.
