Battery industry tech expert Richard Moore has joined the West Midlands Gigafactory joint venture to spearhead its strategy and global contact with leading cell manufacturers.

Richard Moore has joined the West Midlands Gigafactory JV

Moore is the former Lotus director of propulsion and executive director engineering, and also previously led Jaguar Land Rover’s electrification engineering for propulsion systems.

He will use his background knowledge to bring the West Midlands Gigafactory project to fruition.

A public–private joint venture between Coventry City Council and Coventry Airport Ltd, the project has planning permission in place for a gigafactory with capacity up to 60GWh per annum. The facility could be production-ready from 2025 to supply batteries for EVs and become Britain’s largest battery facility – such gigafactories are strategically critical to the UK’s automotive and domestic energy sectors as the world transitions to an electrified future.

The project’s planned location would also ensure it’s closer to almost every car manufacturer plant than any other proposed gigafactory in the UK, while also being powered by 100% sustainable, green energy and with direct access to a net zero transport and logistics infrastructure.

Richard Moore said: “I am hugely excited to be joining the team behind the West Midlands Gigafactory. This is a significantly important project for the region, the British automotive and domestic energy industries and the UK as we transition to an electrified economy. I hope to be able to use my full experience to bring the project to fruition, with strategic advice and assistance in the ongoing discussions with the global battery industry.”

Mike Murray, West Midlands Gigafactory project director, added: “As the world rapidly moves towards an increasingly electrified future, gigafactories have been identified as essential to the survival of the UK’s automotive and energy storage sectors as well as its future economic growth. We are extremely excited with the progress that the West Midlands Gigafactory has already made and the appointment of Richard is a crucial step in our journey as we get closer to identifying a future occupier. We are looking forward to working closely with Richard and harnessing his world-class expertise.”