ENABLING BATTERY TECHNOLOGIES
& DEVELOPING SKILLS

The UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) is part of the UK Government’s Faraday Battery Challenge.

The £130 million UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) is a pioneering concept in the race to develop battery technology for the transition to a greener future.


The unique facility provides the missing link between battery technology, which has proved promising at laboratory or prototype scale, and successful mass production. Based in Coventry, the publicly-funded battery product development facility welcomes manufacturers, entrepreneurs, researchers and educators, and can be accessed by any organisation with existing or new battery technology.

UKBIC is a key part of the Faraday Battery Challenge (FBC), a Government programme to fast track the development of cost-effective, high-performance, durable, safe, low-weight and recyclable batteries.


In addition to funding from the Faraday Battery Challenge, part of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, at UK Research and Innovation, UKBIC is also part-funded through the West Midlands Combined Authority.


The project has been delivered through a consortium of Coventry City Council, Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership and WMG, at the University of Warwick. UKBIC was created in 2018 following a competition led by the Advanced Propulsion Centre with support from Innovate UK.


WHY UKBIC?

ABOUT US

The £130 million UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) is a pioneering concept in the race to develop battery technology for the transition to a greener future.

OUR FACILITY

Through focused capabilities we will enable industry, via open access, to scale up and commercialise advanced technologies central to the development and manufacture of batteries, initially for the automotive sector but with wider application.

LATEST NEWS

By UKBIC Comms Team August 29, 2024
The UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) – the national battery manufacturing facility providing manufacturing scale-up and skills for the battery sector - in conjunction with Warwickshire County Council, is set to offer a free of charge two-day training course in battery manufacturing. Participants who work for a company based in the county, and are aged 50 and above, can apply to Warwickshire County Council’s New Direction – 50+ Skills Investment Fund, for a place on the fully funded Introduction to battery manufacturing training. In addition to this, there are fully funded places available for anyone in full-time employment through the Skills Escalator Fund. To be eligible, you must be a small to medium sized business or self-employed and based in Warwick and Stratford with Nuneaton & Bedworth and Rugby coming soon. Training must be completed by March 2025. Both grant schemes allow five places per company. Jonty Deeley-Williamson, Head of Learning & Development, UKBIC, added: “It’s fantastic to get such brilliant support from Warwickshire County Council to boost skills across the county in battery manufacturing. These courses will give employees who work for a company based in the county a helping hand to work in the growing battery manufacturing sector.” By 2040, the Faraday Institution estimates that the battery industry could support 170,000 jobs nationally in the automotive industry and a further 100,000 jobs in battery manufacturing and the wider battery supply chain. Significant reskilling and upskilling programmes will be needed to cater for the 35,000 jobs in gigafactories and 65,000 jobs in the battery supply chain that could be created. Louise Stolz, Future Skills Business Support Advisor, Warwickshire Skills Hub, said: "Warwickshire County Council’s Future Skills Fund is a multi-strand programme, designed to develop work related skills and knowledge for new and existing employees, in new and emerging technologies, such as battery technology. It’s great that Warwickshire businesses can now access courses with the UKBIC in Battery Manufacturing and really supports the work Warwickshire Skills Hub are doing around the future skills agenda. The next Introduction to battery manufacturing is being held on 22 and 23 September. Anyone wishing to find out more about training at UKBIC and the free training courses should contact: training@ukbic.co.uk
By UKBIC Communications Team August 15, 2024
Australian businesses are a step closer to accessing world-leading battery manufacturing scale-up facilities, thanks to an agreement signed today between the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) and Powering Australia. UKBIC is a £130 million ($250 million) national battery manufacturing scale-up facility based in Coventry, UK that was established by the UK Government through the Faraday Battery Challenge to help companies bridge the gap between battery technology showing promise at laboratory scale and move them towards successful mass production. The agreement is intended to strengthen collaboration in battery research, technology and innovation between Australia and the UK and aligns with the “Statement of Intent” signed by the Albanese Government in April 2023. The Statement is intended to promote collaboration on critical minerals, strengthen international supply chains, meet net zero objectives, remove barriers to adoption of new technology and help create the jobs and the workforce of the future. CEO Shannon O’Rourke said reaching the agreement with UKBIC is a key milestone for the five-month-old Powering Australia team whose work is helping to operationalise the intergovernmental agreement with tangible action and accelerate the development of Australia’s battery industry in partnership with other nations. “We are delighted to have reached this agreement with the UKBIC team, less than six months into our formation as Powering Australia which is very much aligned to the Statement of Intent. Our organisation was established to help Australian businesses succeed in clean-tech manufacturing and being able to access world scale common user facilities like the UKBIC is major win,” said Shannon. UKBIC’s facility covers 20,000 sqm and has extensive equipment covering battery production from mixing and coating, to calendering, slitting cylindrical and pouch cell assembly, and formation, ageing, testing, as well as module and pack assembly. UKBIC Managing Director Sean Gilgunn said: “This is a great first step between the two organisations to encourage cooperation between the UK and Australia in battery technology. We’re looking forward to helping Powering Australia with its vision, and, in the future, to welcoming Australian companies that want to use our state-of-the-art facilities.” The two organisations will work together on strategic projects that offer mutual benefit and will engage in the exchange of skills and expertise to help both nations develop their respective battery industries further. Notes to editor: To arrange an interview, please email richard.robinson@ukbic.co.uk or phone +44 (0) 7503 628892 UKBIC is the UK’s national manufacturing battery development facility, providing manufacturing scale-up and skills for the battery sector. The purpose-built facility is where businesses develop their battery manufacturing processes at the scale they need to move to industrial production and where those working in the industry can develop new skills by working on the production line, alongside UKBIC’s specialist teams. Created with an initial investment of £130m, an additional £74m has now been committed by UK Research and Innovation to enhance the facility by installing a new pilot line to bridge the gap between UKBIC’s larger scale offering and small-scale demonstrators available elsewhere. Funding is also being used to support the construction of a new battery development laboratory, a clean and dry zone, and cell cyclers. Opened in July 2021, the Coventry-based facility can be accessed by organisations with existing or new battery technology, or companies looking at entering the industry. UKBIC doesn’t retain customer IP. UKBIC is part of the £610m Faraday Battery Challenge, which is delivering a research and innovation programme that covers "Lab to Factory" development, cutting-edge research, national scale-up infrastructure, and skills and training.  UKBIC’s construction was part-funded through the West Midlands Combined Authority and was delivered through a consortium of Coventry City Council, Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership and WMG, at the University of Warwick.
By UKBIC Communications Team August 15, 2024
The UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC), the national battery manufacturing facility providing manufacturing scale-up and skills for the battery sector, has appointed Richard LeCain as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Richard will report into Sean Gilgunn, UKBIC’s Managing Director, and will sit on the executive team with responsibility for technical process design, product development and R&D activities across the business. Richard has more than 20 years of experience working in the battery industry, having previously held technical and leadership positions at A123 Systems and Britishvolt, where he was Director of Cell and Process Engineering. Richard began his career in batteries at Lithium Iron Phosphate pioneer (LFP) A123 Systems in the US as a process engineer where he developed LFP cells in cylindrical and pouch formats for energy storage applications such as power tools, medical devices and automotives, eventually becoming the head of cell design for low voltage applications. As Director of Cell and Process Engineering at Britishvolt, Richard and his team worked closely with UKBIC and WMG, at the University of Warwick, to quickly develop an energy dense 21700 cell for customer evaluations. Most recently, he was Director of Cell Development at US-based silicon anode company, GDI, where he worked on integrating 100% silicon anodes into lithium-ion cells for high energy density and fast charging applications. Richard has worked in battery plants across the world transferring processes and designs from the lab into manufacturing. Sean Gilgunn said: “We’re very excited with the appointment of Richard to the role of CTO. Richard’s vast expertise and experience will be hugely beneficial to our customers and employees alike, as our customers develop and refine their battery products as they move along their challenging scaleup journeys.” Richard, who will join UKBIC on 19 August, added: “UKBIC is a world class facility and I’m delighted to be joining them at this exciting time. I’m looking forward to helping companies with getting a foot on the scale-up ladder, as customers move from research and development through to volume manufacturing. From my previous engagement with UKBIC on the customer side with Britishvolt, I saw firsthand how well UKBIC could make cells and I’m excited to be part of that team now.” UKBIC is part of the £610m Faraday Battery Challenge, which is delivering a research and innovation programme that covers "Lab to Factory" development, cutting-edge research, national scale-up infrastructure, and skills and training. -ends- Notes to editor: To arrange an interview, please email richard.robinson@ukbic.co.uk or phone +44 (0) 7503 628892 UKBIC is the UK’s national manufacturing battery development facility, providing manufacturing scale-up and skills for the battery sector. The purpose-built facility is where businesses develop their battery manufacturing processes at the scale they need to move to industrial production and where those working in the industry can develop new skills by working on the production line, alongside UKBIC’s specialist teams. Created with an initial investment of £130m, an additional £74m has now been committed by UK Research and Innovation to enhance the facility by installing a new pilot line to bridge the gap between UKBIC’s larger scale offering and small-scale demonstrators available elsewhere. Funding is also being used to support the construction of a new battery development laboratory, a clean and dry zone, and cell cyclers. Opened in July 2021, the Coventry-based facility can be accessed by organisations with existing or new battery technology, or companies looking at entering the industry. UKBIC doesn’t retain customer IP.  UKBIC’s construction was part-funded through the West Midlands Combined Authority and was delivered through a consortium of Coventry City Council, Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership and WMG, at the University of Warwick.
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