Can ‘Global Britain’ really succeed with electric vehicles?
Julian Hetherington, Automotive Transformation Director
| Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC)
The UK automotive sector is under transformation and key projects like Ford Halewood will drive the green growth we need.
Let’s face the facts: the UK may be a minnow in comparison with major EV producers – but we have much that is envied by the world’s bigger players. The automotive sector in the UK is more diverse than anywhere, with a concentration of high-value luxury vehicles, mainstream cars & vans, a healthy heavy-duty bus and truck industry – and we are the global home of motorsport technology.
Nowhere else will you see such a concentration of R&D in leading technologies across this industrial sector per unit of output, and we should celebrate that the sector remains our largest exporter of manufactured goods. Around three quarters of our output is exported, worth £46.8bn a year.
You may be surprised that we contribute significantly to the design and production of the world’s largest electric vehicles (EV) – mining haul trucks, used around the world, but some of the ‘expensive technology bits’ are designed & made here in the UK.
Our sector’s productivity is amongst the highest in Western Europe and we not only host one of the most productive engine plants in the world but have seen successful pivots of legacy plants into electric drive unit production – all for export, won on an international competitive bid basis.
Ford’s vehicle transmission factory at Halewood on Merseyside is being transformed to build electric power units for future Ford all-electric passenger and commercial vehicles in Europe.
The site at Halewood was competing for investment with others in Europe, but with a grant and support of the Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) from the Department for Business and Trade, facilitated by the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK, Ford committed the £380m investment for this transformation here.
When car companies want speed in innovation, they come here.
Leading EV motor technology for a large German premium brand is delivered by a UK University spin-out, which remains anchored here. We have more R&D centres than major car plants.
As a sector, we are the second largest investor in R&D after pharmaceuticals, and our ecosystem is one that leverages our globally-leading universities, Catapults. Our modest and targeted funding system is benchmarked across the globe.
As we pivot to zero emissions vehicles (and that includes hydrogen as well as battery-electric vehicles for some applications), we become more reliant on particular materials such as lithium, nickel & graphite for batteries, catalyst metals for fuel cells & rare earths (REEs) for magnets. Around 80 per cent of the value of a battery is contained in processed materials inputs and our capable foundational chemicals sector has a vital part to play in support capture of this added value – important for Rules of Origin with our major trading partners in the EU and elsewhere. We have substantial brine and rock-based lithium deposits now being commercially extracted and could be self-sufficient by 2030. UK companies have identified Nickel and rare earth elements (REE) deposits and devised novel and low impact extraction and refining technologies.
Today, the world relies on China for magnet materials, but we have probably the greatest potential in Europe to leverage recycled materials from our end-of-life wind turbine fleet with an enviable ecosystem for extraction, refining and alloying of REE that spans from Belfast to Ellesmere Port, Birmingham and Saltend, and this will build out the EV upstream supply chains capturing value for the UK. International trading partners provide markets and key materials supply – and our global outlook is a strategic advantage.
We can’t – and shouldn’t – try to do everything. Focus is key to success.
Many of the projects I’ve mentioned, such as Ford’s plant at Halewood, have benefited from very modest UK grant support through the ATF or APC programmes – funded by DBT. Building a portfolio of key projects – with care and reference to future industry needs – will drive the green growth we need. We have the foundations – let’s exploit them.
On behalf of the joint industry/government Automotive Council, the APC has recently completed a completely revised series of technology and system level roadmaps – a 14-month process involving over 270 stakeholders. But we have reached a consensus. These roadmaps are recognised and used around the world.
Download the Roadmaps and find out more about the APC here.
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