NG Bailey to build UK’s first ‘gigaplant’ battery factory

NG Bailey is to build the UK’s first gigaplant, which will produce lithium-ion battery technology for the automotive and renewable energy sectors.

The project will be overseen by project director and automotive plant specialist Ray Macera, with NG Bailey leading the construction, automotive manufacturing engineering expert Rolton Group providing engineering design, Ridge and Partners providing project management of architecture, and Savills leading on infrastructure, property and planning consultancy.

The new gigaplant is being designed by Italian design experts Pininfarina. It will be built on a former RAF base in Bro Tathan, South Wales and will house client Britishvolt’s manufacturing and research and development facilities.

Both NG Bailey and Ridge and Partners have recently helped deliver the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UK BIC) in Coventry which has been funded by the government backed Faraday Battery Challenge.

Britishvolt CEO, Orral Nadjari said: “Our mission is for the gigaplant to begin supplying the automotive and energy industries with world-class batteries, powering the electric revolution. So it’s essential that we hire world-class talent and forge leading partnerships to help us achieve our goal.

“With these highly experienced new partners leading the construction phase we have the expertise to build and equip a gigaplant that will be transformative for UK car-making, the renewable energy industry and the entire British economy.

“We already have momentum, working and deploying capital expenditure early in the process so that we can accurately assess, the level of UK government support that will be required to enable us to move the project forwards.

“We’re also working with agility and speed. Thanks to previous experience with the UK BIC plant, we have achieved more progress in the past five weeks than similar projects have done in six months.”

Britishvolt project director, Ray Macera said: “It’s exciting to be involved in such a strategically important project for Britain’s industrial future. Building a gigaplant in Wales is a giant task but with such a focused mission and such strength in depth with the pedigree of Britishvolt’s appointed partners we are already off to a strong start.”