A planning application for the Gigafactory at Coventry Airport has been submitted today.

The proposals would deliver 5.7 million sq ft of space for both battery production and recycling, would add a possible £434m in GVA to the regional economy each year, as well as create 6,000 new jobs and tens of thousands more in the supply chain.

The plans, first announced in February this year, fall within the Kenilworth and Southam constituency and will be discussed by Warwick District Council and Coventry City Council later this year.

The Gigafactory will be powered completely by 'green energy', using a combination of sources including solar and wind power, as well as grid supplied renewables, and will be able to recycle used batteries as well as build new ones.

The site has been chosen because the West Midlands is home to Jaguar Land Rover, Aston Martin Lagonda, and BMW, whilst Coventry Airport is adjacent to the UK's largest battery research centre, the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC).

In the last month, the UK Government has faced increasing pressure from the industry to back more Gigafactory's. In June, both the CBI and SMMT published reports calling for the UK Government to increase its support for UK battery manufacturing facilities to keep up with European competitors.

Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands, said: "It is mission critical that the West Midlands secures a Gigafactory, both for the future of our region's automotive industry and the huge economic and job benefits it would bring, as well as the future of our planet.

"I am therefore delighted that after years of collaborative work, we have now been able to reach this milestone moment of formally submitting a planning application for our preferred site."

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