Rumours of a Tesla gigafactory in Somerset have resurfaced, following comments made by the UK business secretary.
Speculation that Elon Musk was considering the site near Bridgwater was sparked by a report in Property Week in the summer of 2020. It said Department for International Trade (DIT) was looking for a site suitable for the American electric car giant.
These rumours were strengthened last month when a letter addressed to Elon Musk arrived at the Somerset site known as Gravity. Reports suggest that Tesla could move in by the end of the year.
‘Considering and looking’
Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said Somerset “has the manufacturing skill and competence to be able to sustain an excellent gigafactory,” adding that the government is “considering and looking” at the site near Bridgwater.
This was in response to Bridgwater and West Somerset MP Ian Liddell-Grainger, who labelled Gravity “one of the best sites in the United Kingdom”.
It’s one of a few locations in the UK large enough to house a gigafactory. It also has the advantage of being close to the M5 motorway, a railway, Bristol Airport and Avonmouth docks.
Gigafactories are built to produce electric car batteries. The government recently announced a £500 million package to support the electric car industry, including the creation of gigafactories to support EV production.
A 3,000-job factory is planned for Northumberland, while plans for a gigafactory at Coventry Airport have been endorsed by West Midlands Combined Authority.
The country must ramp up battery production before the 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars. A number of manufacturers, including Jaguar, have announced plans to be all-electric ahead of the ban.
In 2019, Tesla elected to locate its first European factory near Berlin, with Musk claiming that the German site was chosen over the UK due to “Brexit uncertainty”. The Somerset factory would be similar in size to the 92-acre facility in Germany.
We’ll update this article as the story develops.
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