West Midlands Gigafactory has hired Lotus’ former executive director of engineering, Richard Moore, to lead its global strategy.
Richard Moore’s CV includes a key role in the development of the upcoming Lotus Evija electric supercar. Prior to his time at Lotus he was the chief engineer of JLR’s electrification division – a role which included the development of the Jaguar I-Pace’s powertrain.
“I hope to be able to use my full experience to bring the project to fruition, with strategic advice and assistance in the ongoing discussions with the global battery industry,” said Moore.
Mike Murray, project director for West Midlands Gigafactory, added: “We are extremely excited with the progress that the West Midlands Gigafactory has already made and the appointment of Richard is a crucial step in our journey as we get closer to identifying a future occupier. ”
The West Midlands Gigafactory aims to begin making batteries from 2025 and is targeting 60GWh of annual production. Assuming the average car battery pack has a capacity of 80kWh, this is sufficient for powering 750,000 cars per year.
Moore’s appointment is likely to be motivated by the need to find a manufacturer to occupy the site when it begins operation; his rolodex includes Chinese battery giants BYD and CATL, while his time at Lotus is expected to have given him strong connections to owners Geely.
West Midlands Gigafactory said in a statement that it is offering “an unprecedented regional incentives package” to potential suitors that includes “market-leading land costs”, “favourable conditions for local taxation” and “access to clean, sustainable power”.
Whether that will be sufficient to attract a major battery manufacturer is yet to be seen.
Autocar recently reported that British firm Eurocell chose the Netherlands over the UK for its first battery factory because our government was uncooperative compared with European countries.
According to Eurocell chief commercial officer Nick Clay, the French, Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch governments were all “a lot more attuned to the wider energy transition that’s going on”.
Post-Brexit ‘rules of origin’ mandating an EV’s battery to be sourced entirely from the UK or EU – else face a 10% tariff on export – may complicate the issue further, given a European factory could more easily service a wider market.