West Midlands Gigafactory appoints former Lotus director to spearhead global strategy

West Midlands Gigafactory has appointed battery industry technology expert Richard Moore to spearhead its strategy and global contact with leading cell manufacturers. This appointment will support the investment into and development of what will become the UK’s largest Gigafactory in Coventry.

Based in the automotive skills capital of the UK the heart of the UK’s manufacturing sector, the 60GWH per annum West Midlands Gigafactory could become Britain’s largest cell factory.  Powered by 100% sustainable, green energy with direct access to a Net Zero transport and logistics infrastructure, West Midlands Gigafactory is closer to almost every car manufacturer plant than any other proposed Gigafactory in the UK.

Richard Moore is a highly experienced global automotive battery expert with more than 20 years of experience in the industry. He was previously a board member and Executive Engineering Director of Lotus, where he led the engineering of all sports cars, including the Evija electric hypercar. Previous high-profile industry roles include Chief Engineer at Jaguar Land Rover where he led the electrification engineering for propulsion systems across all Jaguar and Land Rover product programmes, including the Jaguar I-PACE, the company’s first all-electric vehicle. In these roles, Richard has worked with closely with Chinese battery manufacturers, including CATL and BYD.

Richard said: “I am hugely excited to be joining the team behind the West Midlands Gigafactory. This is a significantly important project for the region, the British automotive and domestic energy industries and the UK as we transition to an electrified economy. 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.”

Mike Murray, West Midlands Gigafactory Project Director “As the world rapidly moves towards an increasingly electrified future, Gigafactories have been identified as essential to the survival of the UK’s automotive and energy storage sectors as well as its future economic growth. 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. We are looking forward to working closely with Richard and harnessing his world-class expertise.”

Councillor Jim O’Boyle, Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change at Coventry City Council “The automotive industry is in Coventry’s DNA past, present and future. We are extremely proud of our automotive heritage, history of innovation and as the skills capital of the UK - the West Midlands is ready to expand its capabilities and grow with the new Gigafactory joint venture. Our new battery technology expert exemplifies those capabilities and with Richard’s global influence he is well placed to attract even more investment, skills and jobs to our region.”

The West Midlands Gigafactory is a public private joint venture between Coventry City Council and Coventry Airport Ltd. It is already in advanced discussions with global battery manufacturers to occupy the site which can be production ready from 2025 to begin supplying high-tech batteries for electric vehicles. At full capacity it could create up to 6,000 direct jobs, with thousands more in the supply chain.

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 include market-leading land costs for the site as well as creating favourable conditions for local taxation and access to clean, sustainable power that a world-class battery facility requires.

With many major manufacturers based in the region, the West Midlands is the automotive skills capital of the UK and has unrivalled access to both current and future talent, as well as the existing skills needed to support the West Midlands Gigafactory.

Today, more than 400 specialist automotive and battery technology companies are based in the West Midlands. The region is home to a third of the UK’s automotive employees and has an abundance of automotive research, design, engineering, and manufacturing talent.

The electrification revolution represents the largest shift in industrial skills for the UK in a generation and local universities are at the forefront of developing courses, such as WMG at the University of Warwick’s Battery School, that will deliver the next generation of skills needed to transition to an electrified future.