Multi-million pound car battery factory approved for Wearside
Its hoped the new Envision AESC plant will create hundreds of jobs
Plans for a multi-million pound car battery plant on Wearside creating hundreds of jobs have been given the go-ahead by city councillors.
Earlier this year, Envision AESC submitted plans for a gigafactory, which will be built at the International Advanced Manufacturing Park (IAMP) in Washington.
The company is a world-leading manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries for the automotive industry and has been producing batteries in Sunderland for the Nissan LEAF electric vehicle for nearly a decade.
New plans will see the company move to a larger state-of-the-art building on the IAMP site as part of a £1billion partnership with Nissan UK and Sunderland City Council to create an electric vehicle hub supporting the next generation of electric vehicle production.
Envision is expected to invest £450million as part of the new project, which in turn will create more than 700 jobs while safeguarding another 300 from its existing Sunderland plant on the Nissan site.
The scaled-up plant, which is capable of producing batteries to power more than 100,000 electric vehicles per year, will be powered by 100% renewable energy and supported by a ‘microgrid’ which is being developed by Sunderland City Council.
Plans for the gigafactory were unanimously approved at a meeting of the city council’s Planning and Highways (West) Committee on Tuesday (October 5).
Lynda Newsome, of planning and development consultancy Lichfields, spoke on behalf of Envision AESC at the meeting.
She said: “Overall the proposals will help Sunderland and the UK become one of the best international locations for automotive and advanced manufacturing, with the proposals building on both Nissan and Envision’s initial investments in the Nissan LEAF in the current battery plant.”
Although concerns were raised by councillor Len Lauchlan about the “nasty chemicals” used in lithium-ion battery production and the safety measures in place, council planners said this would be monitored by a seperate process.
This includes an additional application for ‘hazardous substances’ which will be considered by the council, working alongside the Environment Agency and Health and Safety Executive.
Envision is working in partnership with Nissan and Sunderland City Council on the battery plant scheme which is expected to secure jobs and economic growth for the region.
According to a report prepared for councillors, construction is due to begin in early 2022, with the aim of starting battery production in 2024.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave his seal of approval to the plans when the announcement was made earlier this year – stating that the high-skilled jobs the plant will create will support many future generations.
When completed, the gigafactory will be the largest facility on the IAMP site, which was created by South Tyneside Council and Sunderland City Council in 2018 to attract business investment to the region.
A planning committee report adds that the battery plant development will “continue to support the IAMP AAP aims and objectives to build on the area’s international reputation in the automotive industry, support Nissan and attract European-scale ‘super-suppliers’ linked to the automotive industry.”