Envision AESC plans to build a new super battery factory in the UK

According to foreign media reports, Chinese automotive energy supply company Envision AESC plans to build a new super battery factory near Nissan's Sunderland plant, and the British government is conducting a feasibility study on the plan.

AESC was originally a battery subsidiary of Nissan Motor and was later acquired by China's Envision Group. Envision AESC said that its current annual battery production in Sunderland is 1.9 GWh, and it is not yet clear what the annual production capacity of the new battery factory will be. This year, due to the pandemic, Envision AESC cut 130 jobs in Sunderland, and one-third of the employees were said to be affected. Now, with the growing demand for electric vehicle batteries, the company is expected to recruit a large number of employees there again.

Nadhim Zahawi, the UK's Minister for Industry and Commerce, said: "Sunderland is now a centre for advanced manufacturing, with many global automotive companies having established production bases here." As part of the UK's move towards a low-carbon automotive future, the government has announced a total of £49 million in funding to support projects that will create thousands of jobs and reduce millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. Ford, Jaguar Land Rover, Lotus and Nissan have all received government support.

Earlier this year, there were also reports that Envision AESC would prefer to build its planned super battery factory in continental Europe . In September, French media reported, citing unnamed sources, that Envision AESC had identified about a dozen potential factory sites in the country.

AESC global production facilities (Photo source: electrive)

Currently, Envision AESC has electric vehicle battery production plants in Tennessee, the United States, Sunderland, the United Kingdom, and Kanagawa, Japan . According to data released by the company, its annual battery production capacity at these three locations totals 7.5 GWh, of which the annual production capacity of the Tennessee plant is 3 GWh, the annual production capacity of the Kanagawa plant is 2.6 GWh, and the annual production capacity of the Sunderland plant is 1.9 GWh. In 2019, Envision AESC began to build a battery plant with an annual production capacity of 20 GWh in Wuxi, China. The specific annual production capacity of the plant is currently unknown.