Gigafactory

The proposed EV battery Gigafactory in Northumberland is projected, according to the blurb, to employ 3,000 workers. Being the cynic that I am in respect to any announcement by the Johnson administration, is this reality or the blurb to gain government funding?

The Swindon Honda factory, which made conventional vehicles, itself employed 3,000 people, and they were making an entire car, albeit that was was primarily assembly with many parts made elsewhere. Had it moved to EVs, then that number would have reduced substantially, as there are fewer parts in an EV.

There are currently four Tesla Gigafactories; three in the USA and one in Chine. The Tesla factory in Fremont California, which is the largest, employs 10,000.

I find it hard to believe that the proposed Britishvolt Gigafactory, with the potential for automation and robots, will employ 3,000 workers. It's interesting to note that the chairman of Britishvolt has stepped down when it was discovered he was found guilty of tax fraud in Sweden 20 years ago. If you want to get government funding, then inflating the number of jobs is a tried and tested strategy. 

Even if it does go ahead, and there's still a substantial shortfall in funding, then there are the associated risks with a monoculture, such as hit towns almost entirely reliant on coal, steel or cars.

Also, it's debatable whether batteries are the future of automotive transport - there are many obstacles and much research going into other alternatives, such as hydrogen. The aim, it is said, is to attract EV manufacturers to the area, but with Brexit, is that even viable without huge, taxpayer subsidies? If we were in the EU, such subsidies would not be necessary.

The chart below (click to enlarge) shows percentages and absolute numbers of EVs registered per country in Europe.

While the UK is around the middle in terms of EVs as a percentage of new cars registered, it's quite high in absolute numbers, which is a plus; however, the combined EU, with the borderless trade advantage, is surely a much better location for EV production, which is probably why there are 6 plants already making batteries in the EU and there will be a further 19 in 3 years time. 

Could this have been announced as part of the plan to save Boris? Sorry, re-announced, as it was first announced on 11th December 2021, before PartyGate. We shall see.