BIRMINGHAM: Britain launched a £246 million ($320m) fund on Monday to boost the development and manufacturing of electric batteries, a major growth area for the car and energy sectors.

The scheme, which allows those in business and academia to apply for government funds to work on a range of possible electric battery schemes, is part of Britain’s industrial strategy which Prime Minister Theresa May published in January.

It is designed to take a more hands-on approach to developing key industries to help protect the economy as Britain leaves the European Union.

Automakers are racing to build greener vehicles and improve charge times in a bid to meet rising customer demand and meet air quality targets but Britain lacks sufficient manufacturing capacity, an area ministers are keen to build up.

The first tranche comprises a £45m pot of money which will help to establish a ‘Battery Institute’ for research to help improve the affordability of the technology, which needs to bolster charge and use times, reduce storage sizes and boost capacity.

Business minister Greg Clark also wants to establish a “National Battery Manufacturing Development facility” which would support the building of electric batteries for the automotive sector.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2017