Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata confirms site for mega £4bn Somerset gigafactory

Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata has confirmed the site for the UK’s biggest electric vehicle battery factory.

The Indian Conglomerate confirmed it would invest £4bn into building the giant gigafactory at Bridgwater, Somerset.

Agratas, the Indian conglomerate’s battery business, said it had brought land at the Gravity Smart Campus near the M5.

It had previously been the site of a WWII Royal Ordnance Factory from World War Two up until 2008.

The facility is expected to bring around 4,000 jobs to the region. It was confirmed the UK had beaten Spain to become its host in July after around £500m was provided in government subsidy.

The firm is aiming to produce its first batteries in Somerset in 2026.

“The 40GWh factory is set to be the biggest battery factory in the country and by the early 2030s will contribute almost half of the projected battery manufacturing capacity required for the UK automotive sector,” Agratas said. 

It comes as the UK and Europe race to keep pace with China in a bid to improve battery production for its electric vehicle industry.

As of today, Britain has only one other gigafactory in the works, which is based in Sunderland and is being developed by Nissan.