Taiwan EV battery maker ProLogium has shortlisted the UK among five potential countries for a potential gigafactory in Europe.

ProLogium has shortlisted 90 possible locations in 13 markets

The firm is seeking its first overseas site for production of next-generation solid-state batteries in Europe or the USA. In Europe, it’s looking at potential sites in France, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland as well as the UK. In total, it’s shortlisted 90 possible locations in 13 markets.

The factory is expected to be one of Europe’s biggest gigafactories, with a three-phase construction and ultimately an annual capacity target of 120GWh when the third phase is completed. Investment will take place over the next decade and will total US$8bn (£6.9bn / €8.0bn) over the next decade.

ProLogium has appointed Accuracy, a global independent financial and strategic consulting firm, to advise on the location of the facility, which will bring substantial economic benefits for the chosen region.

Zaheer Minhas, partner at Accuracy, said: “It is no exaggeration to say that ProLogium’s European production site will be transformative for the chosen region. Competition to secure the site is already fierce. That means the region ProLogium chooses will benefit from the creation of high-quality, environmentally friendly jobs for many years to come.”

ProLogium added that solid-state batteries are among the “most promising and disruptive” battery technologies, offering advantages in terms of safety, energy density, fast-charging capability, recyclability, weight optimisation and costs.

The battery maker has already begun testing and certification processes with key global car OEMs, delivering nearly 8,000 EV battery cells (50-60Ah).

Earlier this summer, Anglo-Korean battery manufacturer Eurocell confirmed that it was in the final stages of discussions to build its first European gigafactory in the Netherlands.

The company announced in February this year that it was looking to build a factory to supply ‘production-ready’ EV batteries in just 12 months and had a shortlist of the UK, the Netherlands and Spain – the Netherlands made the grade, due to the country’s pre-eminence in tackling climate change along with strong support from the Government.