Essays by Eric Worrall
Politicians have moved to bolster public confidence in their green investment/jobs story, by conducting a congressional inquiry into why car companies make cars. British electricity is faltering.
Business Commission opens investigation into UK electric vehicle battery production
January 17, 2023
The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee has launched a new inquiry into the supply of batteries for electric vehicle production in the UK and the possibility of producing batteries for electric vehicles in the UK.
The new investigation comes after the industry suffered a series of setbacks, including today’s announcement that government-led battery startup Britishvolt has begun laying off 300 employees.
In October, BMW announced it would stop making the electric Mini in Oxford.
It leaves the China-backed Envision site in Sunderland, which supplies Nissan as the sole UK manufacturer ahead of a ban on sales of petrol and diesel cars in 2030.
Opinion of the Chairman
Committee Chairman Darren Jones said:
“The future of UK car manufacturing depends on our ability to produce electric vehicles and our ability to export them to the EU.
That means we need a local supply of electric vehicle batteries – which we are significantly behind in the rest of the world.
This investigation will look at what is holding back the growth of electric car batteries in the UK and what needs to be done to protect thousands of jobs across the country in this vital sector.”
Terms of Reference
The committee is calling for evidence sent to the Commission’s website before February 14 from people with industry knowledge or experience answering any of the following questions:
- Is there enough UK vehicle production demand in the UK to support gigafactories?
- Will the UK have enough battery production supplies by 2025 and 2030 respectively to meet the government’s plans to phase out petrol and diesel vehicles?
- Is UK-based battery manufacturing needed to support electric vehicle production in the UK?
- What are the risks to the UK car industry of not establishing sufficient battery production capacity in the UK?
- What other domestic battery uses will supply the market for UK battery production?
- Does the UK have a sufficient supply of critical raw materials to support the production of car batteries?
- How ready are UK car manufacturers for the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) rules of origin (ROO) to come into force from 2024?
- What can the UK learn from investing in other countries in setting up giant factories?
- Do we have the skills in the workforce needed to make batteries? If not, what needs to be done?
- Are UK battery costs competitive with batteries manufactured elsewhere?
- What impact will the carbon border regulation mechanism proposed by the European Union have on UK manufacturing?
More information
Image: CC Argonne National Laboratory
The problem is obvious, except perhaps politicians in Westminster.
China is a global hub for battery and renewable energy production, because China has kept their costs low. Chinese use cheap coal energy and slave labor to produce renewable energy, batteries and green vehicle components. Then China exported their cheap, bloody products to Western countries run by economically illiterate people.
Energy-intensive production has no future in the UK, as long as UK energy prices remain uncompetitively high. Unless the UK changes course, in the long run, the UK will have to assemble energy-intensive parts made in other countries and make occasional high-value parts contributions to drive excellence in engineering. British precision engineering.
Wasting taxpayer subsidies and political capital to support green national champions like British Volt, without addressing the underlying problems, only delays the inevitable.
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