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.
The UK may be small fry in comparison with major EV producers – but we have much that is envied by the world’s bigger players.
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 £46.8 billion a year.
You may be surprised that we contribute significantly to the design and production of the world’s largest electric vehicles – mining haul trucks, used around the world, but some of the ‘expensive technology bits’ are designed & made here in the UK.
The UK may be small fry in comparison with major EV producers – but we have much that is envied by the world’s bigger players.
The automotive 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 conversions 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.
At the recent launch event for Ford’s new electric Puma at the Halewood facility Kieran Cahill, Ford's European industrial operations vice-president, said: 'Halewood is leading the way as our first in-house EV component manufacturing site in Europe, we're building a thriving future together, with nine electric vehicles on the road in Europe by 2025.'
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 (DBT), facilitated by the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC), Ford committed the £380 million investment for this transformation here.
The zero-emission journey
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 earth elements (REEs) for magnets.
Around 80% 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.
As explained in the APC’s Q3 2023 Demand Report, 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 REE deposits and devised novel and minimal impact extraction and refining technologies.
Today, the world relies on China for permanent 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. Indeed, In the global race to industrialise technology for a net-zero future, a report published by the APC in 2021 shares key elements needed for the UK to secure a robust magnet manufacturing supply chain.
Many of the projects I have 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 cannot (and should not) try to do everything. Focus is key to success. But we have the foundations: the R&D, the expertise, the funding mechanisms, the materials and processes, and the end-of-life recycling capability. Let’s exploit them.
Comment: Autonomous construction requires open data standards
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