UK unveils battery strategy to fuel net zero goals, inviting input from industry stakeholders

Britain on Thursday said it was working on a battery strategy, calling for views from companies, investors and battery designers, as it seeks to attract more investment into an industry that is key to its net zero goals. The Department for Business and Trade said in a statement that its strategy will be published in the coming months and has set a Sept. 28 deadline for opinions. Lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles and are used to store energy are expected to play an important role in the UK’s climate goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050. “I want to harness ideas and ambition from across UK industry to shape not just this generation of skilled workers, infrastructure and technologies, but also to lay the foundations for the UK’s leadership and commitment to delivering a safe, thriving, and effective battery industry for the future,” Nusrat Ghani, a minister at the business department, said. The UK car industry, which needs greater domestic battery production capacity to help secure its future, got a boost last month when India’s Tata Group announced plans to build an electric vehicle battery plant in Somerset, western England. Those plans came months after the failure of startup Britishvolt, which had struggled to raise funds for a major battery factory in Britain. The government said its priority was for batteries to be designed and built in the UK, and to help sustain the long-term development of the industry.