A major battery factory near Kenilworth will share in £211million of government funding for battery research through the Faraday Battery Challenge.

The funding was confirmed by Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg today (Friday 21 October) and is expected to help create 100,000 jobs across the UK by 2040.

Opened in July 2021, the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) in Baginton provides the missing link between battery technology and successful mass production.

UKBIC welcomes manufacturers, entrepreneurs, researchers and educators, and can be used by any organisation with existing or new battery technology – if that technology brings green jobs to the UK.

The facility will help deliver the funding between 2022 and 2025.

Speaking on a visit to the £130million UKBIC Mr Rees-Mogg said: "Safe and powerful batteries are central to our plans to grow the industries of the future.

"From our world leading renewables industry, to our growing electric vehicle sector, secure supplies of batteries are key to delivering jobs and prosperity.

"The Faraday Battery Challenge has brought the UK's greatest minds and best facilities together to develop the innovations that will help us achieve this goal.

"The work it has done since 2017 has laid the groundwork for our future economic success and I am pleased to confirm this work will continue, supported by record funding."

As well as funding from the Faraday Battery Challenge, UKBIC is part-funded through the West Midlands Combined Authority.

The facility was backed by a consortium of Coventry City Council, Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership and WMG, at the University of Warwick.

UKBIC managing director Jeff Pratt added: "I am delighted with this announcement which demonstrates the government's sustained commitment to supporting the development of advanced battery technologies across the UK.

"Since the Faraday Battery Challenge was launched in 2017, we have seen rapid change in the battery industry as it develops increased capacity across Europe; and this will continue over the coming decade.

"For UKBIC, this additional funding will ensure that we retain our leading-edge manufacturing capability for the UK and can continue to support our industry in the next few years as novel chemistries and formats scale towards volume production."