A successful battery industry in the United Kingdom could create more than 100,000 clean energy jobs that are high-paying, employing thousands and significantly contributing to the economy. At least, these are the early projections the government is hoping for as it launches a strategy to help navigate the country towards that goal.
The new program, called the UK Battery Strategy, could be just the silver bullet the nation needs to become a major player in the renewable energy industry amid fierce competition from countries like the United States, China, Brazil, and India — and concern from UK groups about whether the government is doing enough to keep up.
Boom in Jobs Already Predicted
In a 69-page report detailing the new strategy, the UK government suggested that this plan aligns with its efforts already being made to “capitalise on the growth of the green economy.”
Nusrat Ghani, MP, said, “Our successful battery industry will be a significant source of jobs and regional economic growth. A battery industry that addresses domestic demand could employ 100,000 people by 2040.”
The report further detailed that some 35,000 new jobs could be created in cell manufacturing, while another 65,000 could be created in the battery supply chain. Ghani pointed out that the construction of two new gigafactories is already contributing to this industry’s success, “jointly creating over 5,000 jobs and increasing future UK annual production capacity.”
Modest Job Growth Figures
However, the figure of 100,000 jobs by 2040 could be a modest projection according to data from the Faraday Institution, a UK-based research institute dedicated specifically to battery science and technology.
In an earlier report, the institute noted that increasing demand for battery manufacturing could increase the number of new jobs created even further.
Faraday estimated that the UK could see more than 200,000 green jobs in the battery industry by 2040.
“Employment supported in this new EV and battery industry [could] increase to 270,000 jobs by 2040, a rise of one-half on pre-pandemic employment levels,” the institute said in a June 2022 report. “Around 170,000 of these jobs would be supported by the manufacture of 1.8 million passenger and light commercial EVs and the manufacture of HGVs (heavy goods vehicles), buses and small lightweight vehicles.”
“In the battery manufacturing industry, 35,000 direct jobs [could] be created in gigafactories with a further 65,000 jobs in their supply chains.”
Boosting the UK’s Green Economy
On top of creating new jobs, a booming battery industry could also be a major driver of economic growth both in the clean energy field and on the whole, the government’s report suggests.
“The current automotive sector is 27% more productive than the economy as a whole and 14% more productive than wider UK manufacturing in terms of output per hour, and attracts a wage premium of around £4,500 compared to the whole economy,” the report noted.
A significant increase in these kinds of green jobs with high rates of pay would be a positive change for the UK’s transition to green as well as for the economy on the whole.