One of China’s biggest EV battery makers is poised to invest in an electric vehicle battery factory in the West Midlands, reports suggest.

The site has planning permission in place for a large-scale battery production facility with capacity for up to 60GWh per annum

EVE Energy, which has already partnered with BMW, is looking to invest £1.2bn (€1.4bn) in the gigafactory on the outskirts of Coventry, according to the Sunday Times.

The 5.7m sq ft gigafactory would form one of the main parts of the planned UK Centre for Electrification, an investment zone in the West Midlands.

The site would initially have 20GWh of annual capacity, which would be tripled to 60GWh.

The West Midlands Gigafactory, a public-private joint venture partnership between Coventry City Council and Coventry Airport, said in October 2023 that it was in advanced discussions with several leading Asian battery manufacturers about future investment at the Coventry site.

Currently, the UK has just one gigafactory, located next to Nissan’s Sunderland plant, although owner Envision AESC is building a second battery and recently confirmed a third, supporting Nissan’s plans to build its future all-electric vehicles at Sunderland.

More recently, JLR owner Tata Group confirmed that its Agratas global battery business will build a gigafactory at the Gravity Smart Campus near Bridgwater, Somerset. Due to start battery production in 2026, the factory will initially produce batteries for JLR and Tata Motors but Agratas also plans to create batteries for other applications, including two-wheelers and commercial vehicles, as well as commercial energy storage solutions.

In November 2024, a cross-party Committee of MPs warned that the UK government was falling behind its competitors and urgently needed to create an attractive environment for electric vehicle battery production in the UK.

The Batteries for Electric Vehicle Manufacturing report, published by the Business and Trade Committee, was followed just days later by a government pledge to invest £2bn+ in UK automotive strategic manufacturing to support zero-emission vehicles along with the publication of the Department for Business & Trade’s battery strategy that sets out plans for the UK to be “a world leader in sustainable battery design and manufacture, underpinned by a thriving battery innovation ecosystem”.