Britain’s Battery Future Report

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Monday 13th April 2026 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Northover]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to implement the recommendations in the UK Gigafactory Commission report Britain’s Battery Future, published on 21 January.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business and Trade and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (Baroness Lloyd of Effra) (Lab)]

I thank the noble Baroness for her contribution to the commission and its report. A resilient domestic battery sector is essential to the future of our automotive industry, our energy security and our transition to net zero. The Government have demonstrated our commitment to support the UK’s battery and electric vehicle sectors in the modern industrial strategy, including the UK’s record commitment to battery research and development through the battery innovation programme.

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

Our major market is the EU, where shortly we must show that significant value in manufactured goods must originate here or in the EU. In the case of EVs, as the Minister will know, that is the battery. Does she agree, even having said what she has said, that we do not yet have the EV battery gigafactories on the scale we need? The commission on which I served made 10 recommendations. What is the Government’s response, in particular, to the urgent need to attract a major manufacturer to drive the economic incentives to put battery gigafactories in place before we are too late?

[Baroness Lloyd of Effra (Lab)]

As the noble Baroness highlights, the UK understands the need for gigafactories. We have two gigafactories committed to delivering a combined 55 gigawatts of capacity by 2030. We largely agree with the thrust of the recommendations in the report. On the specific question of attracting another major OEM, led by my noble friend Lord Stockwood, the Minister for Investment, the Office for Investment and the department are engaging global EV manufacturers to invest further in the UK, and we are utilising our comprehensive support offer, including DRIVE35 and the battery innovation programme grants, as well as potential national wealth fund support, to proactively engage potential OEM investors.