Turner & Townsend supports the delivery of the UK’s biggest battery plant
Turner & Townsend has been appointed to support Agratas, a global battery business within the Tata Group, with the construction of their new UK battery manufacturing facility in Somerset.
The site’s establishment is the result of a £4bn investment by Tata Group, of which Agratas is a wholly owned subsidiary.
With production set to commence in 2026, the facility will have a capacity of 40GWh of cells per year and is expected to provide almost half of the batteries needed by the UK’s automotive industry by 2030, according to estimates from battery research group The Faraday Institution.
The new gigafactory will also support over 4,000 new high-skilled, green tech jobs locally in Somerset, with thousands more expected to be created in the UK supply chain. Plus, it will see the employment of innovative technologies and efficient processes, like battery recycling, to recover and reuse all the original raw materials to deliver a truly circular economy ecosystem.
Turner & Townsend will provide its cost management expertise throughout the programme, and project management services for site enabling works and procurement of the design team. This appointment will also develop on the company's existing global portfolio of gigafactories which currently amount to 650GWh.
Chris Sargent, Managing Director, Real Estate, said:
“This brand new gigafactory stands the country in good stead to become an industry leader in the electric car market, supporting the decarbonisation of our transport at home and abroad. The investment committed by Tata Group and supported by the UK Government is fantastic news for the national and local economy, creating thousands of jobs in Somerset and building skills for the long term."
Strengthening our global battery capability, this appointment brings together our expertise from its Birmingham, Bristol and Newcastle teams and is supported by our UK-wide industrial and manufacturing experts who share collective knowledge in building gigafactories throughout the UK and Europe. We are hugely excited about helping to deliver such a significant project which will power the country’s transition to electric mobility.
Joe Hibbert, Vice President, Capital Projects at Agratas adds:
“Our multi-billion-pound investment in the facility in Somerset is one of the most significant construction projects in the European battery sector, creating thousands of jobs during construction and into operation."
"We are pleased to have Turner & Townsend onboard to support the industrialisation programme. They bring innovative digital tools and a wealth of experience in this sector to aid the delivery.”
