Coventry City Council will put another £500,000 into its push for a gigafactory near the city, despite scepticism about the move from some councillors.

Plans for the huge battery factory at Coventry Airport were announced in 2021 as a joint venture between the council and the airport's owners.

The council has so far spent £1.75 million on the project including half a million last year to make the site ready for development and market it to investors.

Gigafactories have been billed as necessary to secure car industry jobs in the UK, including around 40,000 in the Coventry and Warwickshire region.

The factory could also create up to 6,000 new roles, reports say.

But 12 months on, no investors for the project have been announced and Jaguar Land Rover owners Tata are reportedly set to build their gigafactory in Somerset, with JLR likely to be the main customer for the batteries.

Earlier this year, West Midlands Mayor Andy Street told the BBC there were "technical aspects" of the Coventry site that didn't meet the company's specification.

These concerns were raised by an opposition councillor at a meeting to formally sign off the money this week.

Cllr Ryan Simpson asked officers what the technical issues are, adding: "Are we absolutely certain this is the right place to put it?"

He also questioned whether there will be a UK car maker that could act as the main customer, otherwise known as an 'anchor tenant', for the factory.

"Who is the anchor tenant? It's not going to be JLR. I just can't see how a gigafactory proposal of this size can survive without an anchor tenant," he said.

"I don't understand who's left to sell car batteries to."

He asked if the council needs to be looking at a different kind of facility such as a "gigapark."

"At what point do we start to become more flexible in our approach?"

But the council's Head of Economic Development Steve Weir said they are confident the site is right and this was looked into "in extensive detail" for the planning application.

"I don't believe there are any technical issues with the site producing batteries on that scale," he added.

Cllr O'Boyle also rejected any suggestion that the scheme was put forward just with Jaguar Land Rover in mind, adding that its negotiations with governments are ongoing.

"Our site in Coventry Airport was never designed, never identified specifically and only for JLR," he said. "This site was about the UK."

"If batteries are not manufactured in the UK, it's not just Coventry that loses out but the UK loses out."

The airport site has been identified by the Faraday Institution as a potential site for a gigafactory and at least 7 or 8 are needed in the UK, he said.

"We are in talks with a number of battery providers," he added.

"None of the companies are going to build them unless they've got [a] customer. We believe they have.

"That to me is absolutely clear, we wouldn't be doing it otherwise."

A council report says the site has been marketed to international battery makers in both the car and other industries.

It says advanced conversations with investors are happening but these commercial talks are subject to legal agreements meaning details can't be revealed.

The £500k will be spent on a variety of activities related to getting the site ready for development and marketing to investors.

This money will come from council reserves and will be recovered when the site is eventually disposed of to an investor, the report said.

But more funding will be needed if an investor is secured, it added.

Cllr Stephen Gray asked if such a large amount of money is definitely needed.

"Half a million pounds to secure a factory being built does seem quite a large expenditure for something that's not certain to pay off."

Mr Weir agreed it's a considerable amount of money but said they need technical support to respond "credibly" to investor enquiries.

Cllr O'Boyle clarified that the money will be split across this year and next year, and match funded by the owners of Coventry Airport.

"It is a risk," he admitted. "And a private company are taking a risk as well.

"If they didn't believe they were going to get a return from this, they wouldn't be doing it."

He added: "I have confidence based on all the industrial evidence that this will come off."