Planning consent was secured last year for the land at Coventry Airport to construct a £2.5bn lithium-ion battery production facility.

The West Midlands Gigafactory’s Coventry location is the only available site in the UK with planning permission in place for such  a large-scale battery production facility with capacity for up to 60GWh per annum – enough to power 600,000 electric vehicles.

Cllr Jim O’Boyle, Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change at Coventry City Council, said: “The West Midlands Gigafactory site in Coventry is a prime location offering future investors an all-in-one solution for battery manufacturing, research, industrialisation and recycling. In addition, we are well-positioned to become an Investment Zone, which will deliver significant additional tax incentives and breaks for future investors.

“I’m pleased to report that we are now in advanced discussions with leading Asian battery manufacturers who want to develop a presence in the UK.

“We hope, with the support of the UK Government, that we will secure an investor and further strengthen our region’s leadership credentials in the shift towards electrification.”

In recognition of the strategic importance of this project, an unprecedented regional incentives package will be available to the eventual occupier.

This is expected to create favourable conditions for local taxation and access to clean, sustainable power that a world-class battery facility requires.