3 minute read - 29th July 2022
AMTE Power plans new battery cell factory in Dundee
Battery cell manufacturer AMTE Power has selected Dundee as the preferred site for its first megafactory.
Complementing its existing facility in Thurso, Caithness, AMTE says the new factory would directly create up to 215 highly skilled jobs and a further 800 across the supply chain by producing the high performance battery cells needed to help electrify vehicles, homes, and industries for the UK’s energy transition.
AMTE Power remains one of the only companies in the UK currently producing battery cells and the proposed new site at Dundee’s Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc (MSIP) would ensure the business can rapidly scale up to mass manufacturing volumes. Following the proposed state-of-the-art fit out of an existing building at MSIP, AMTE Power’s 0.5GWh plant could be operational and in production by the third quarter of 2025, based on current planned timings.
AMTE Power wants to build a battery cell factory in Dundee – if it goes ahead, its megafactory would create up to 215 new jobs / Picture: AMTE Power
The plant will build upon the expertise AMTE Power has gained through its battery cell operations in Thurso, alongside the work it is doing with the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre in Coventry and at its technology centre in Oxford.
The announcement is part of AMTE Power’s evolved execution strategy to rapidly scale-up production and deliver on the UK market demand for its products. AMTE has the ambition to use the site at Dundee as a template for future factories producing its high value product for UK customers. The model is repeatable and is expected to enable AMTE to be flexible in meeting market demand for its differentiated cells.
Megafactories are smaller than gigafactories and can, therefore, be constructed and become operational much faster. They have the additional benefit of being able to use existing infrastructure providing more flexibility in location, requiring less investment and a faster path to profitability. Due to the high value nature of AMTE’s products, a factory can be profitable at a smaller scale than the size of factories at multiple GWh size.
Kevin Brundish, CEO of AMTE Power, said: “We are excited to announce Dundee as the preferred location for our first megafactory, a quantum leap for AMTE. The change in our execution strategy will accelerate our journey to mass manufacture of high value added, differentiated cells. The megafactory will be a platform from which AMTE can harness our advanced inhouse capabilities to build further factories to meet the huge demand for battery cells – allowing us to rapidly scale up production and fast-track the path to achieving net zero.
“Battery cells are fundamental to enabling the UK’s energy transition and with this investment, we will play a key role in electrifying the vehicles, homes and industries of the future. The site at Dundee is the ideal location for a megafactory, it has local industry knowledge and is close to our current and future customers in energy storage. We look forward to updating all stakeholders on our progress.”
Councillor John Alexander, leader of Dundee City Council, added: “All partners are committed to delivering on the vision that we had for MSIP following the closure of the tyre factory. AMTE’s proposed megafactory is a great fit with that vision, and would build significantly on the successes that have already been achieved in securing tenants for the Parc.
“We want to be at the forefront of new technologies. We want to have a workforce with the right skills for future needs. And, ultimately, we want to create sustainable employment for local people. We look forward to working closely with local and national partners to help progress AMTE’s plans and secure this major investment in Dundee.”
AMTE Power is in discussion with Scottish Enterprise to help bring the development forward. It says the site is perfectly suited for a battery megafactory with a highly skilled, local workforce, onsite renewable energy, commitment from the Scottish government for net zero manufacturing and good transport links.