Star comment: Car battery plant vital to help West Midlands support greener car industry
Britain is late to the party when it comes to car battery plants. While other areas of Europe and the world have factories up and running, or at least actively planned, the UK has done little.
There is more reason then to push harder than ever for a factory here in the West Midlands that will create hundreds of jobs directly and through supporting industries. The West Midlands Mayor remains committed to building a car battery plant at Coventry Airport, after it emerged Tata Group is reportedly set to strike a deal with the Government for a billion-pound facility in Somerset.
With JLR’s big factory alongside the M54 gradually converting to battery technology, it would have appeared sensible for parent company Tata to look to this region for its battery plant. The fact it is being built in Somerset, close to the M5, shows, however, that the company remains committed to operating in the UK. It is now vital that a plant is moved forward for Coventry so that the West Midlands can continue its tradition of supporting the car industry. It is now up to our politicians and business leaders to catch up for lost time so that the UK can be one of the world leaders in battery production.
The UK has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to shift towards a greener, cleaner economy as it seeks to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and develop new technologies. The national economy has gone backwards in recent times yet green technology is an area in which the UK can invest, boosting the economy while improving the planet.
The development of such technologies can lead to increased exports as the world catches up with the climate crisis.
