£1bn funding boost for AESC battery gigafactory, Sunderland
Batteries for up to 100,000 electric vehicles a year will be made at a new AESC plant in Washington, Sunderland, when fully operational.
The Japanese company, Nissan’s battery partner, has secured £680m of funding backed by the the government’s National Wealth Fund and an extra £320m of private investment. The money will help cover construction costs for the work-in-progress site and operating costs.
Ms Reeves said: “It’s incredibly exciting – £1 billion investment at the plant here creating around 1,000 new jobs and that’s been backed by government money through the national wealth fund.
“I think this is one of the biggest investments the national wealth fund has made since we came into office, supporting a thousand jobs here, good jobs paying decent wages.”
It comes a day after a trade deal described as “historic” by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was struck with the US, and could help safeguard car manufacturing jobs in Sunderland.
The agreement was confirmed in a call between the PM and US President Donald Trump which was broadcast live on both sides of the Atlantic. US import taxes which had threatened to cripple British high-end car makers were cut from 27.5% to 10%, while a 25% tariff on steel was removed entirely.
Speaking to the Prime Minister from the White House, the Mr Trump said the agreement was a “great deal for both countries”.
North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said of the £1bn investment: “This shows that the conversation between regional and national government is flowing freely. This is really fundamental to our growth plan in the region.
“Advanced manufacturing, factory manufacturing, and green energy is something we know we can excel at. We really have a strong track record of it.
“Together we are striving for growth and achieving that in the region.”
Once fully operational, the factory will be a part of a six-fold increase on the country’s current battery manufacturing capacity, tipped to be a push to help achieve targets for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
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Shoichi Matsumoto, CEO of Japanese headquartered AESC, said: “This investment marks a key milestone in AESC’s ongoing efforts to support the UK’s path towards decarbonisation and the expansion of its EV market.
“Through close collaboration with strategic partners, we strive to accelerate this transition while creating high-quality local jobs and building resilient, sustainable supply chain.
“We are honoured to contribute to the development of low-carbon economy with our advanced battery technologies.”