Volklec, a UK battery cell manufacturer, has secured funding through the government-backed DRIVE35 programme to scale domestic battery production. Working with UKBIC, AIH Group, Arcadis, and HSSMI, the company will develop a 1GWh manufacturing capability and progress plans for a 10GWh gigafactory, targeting the automotive, defense, and aerospace sectors.
UK battery cell manufacturer Volklec has secured government funding through the DRIVE35 programme to accelerate domestic battery production, with plans to scale from an initial 1GWh capacity to a 10GWh gigafactory.
DRIVE35 is a £4 billion programme delivered by the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) in partnership with Innovate UK and the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), aimed at supporting innovation, scale-up, and industrial transformation across the UK’s automotive sector.
The funding will support two parallel programmes. Working with the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) and AIH Group, Volklec will accelerate development of its 1GWh domestic power cell manufacturing capability to bring British-made cells to market sooner. Separately, with strategic support from Arcadis and the High Speed Sustainable Manufacturing Institute (HSSMI), the company will progress plans for what it describes as the UK’s first independent 10GWh battery gigafactory.
Volklec says the programs are intended to scale domestic battery production to industrial levels and secure the UK’s long-term battery supply chain, with target markets including automotive, defense, and aerospace.
Imran Khatri, founder of Volklec, says: “The UK’s limited domestic battery manufacturing capacity has resulted in a severe bottleneck for UK PLC, leaving high-value sectors exposed to global supply chain volatility and restricted access to critical technologies.
“Volklec’s mission is to close this critical gap in the supply chain. By combining proven, production-ready cell technology with the UK’s existing industrial infrastructure, we’re able to take a staged, de-risked approach to scale-up. This gives us a faster, more pragmatic route to domestic battery production, enabling us to deliver capability today while building towards the essential giga-scale manufacturing of tomorrow.”
No figures were disclosed regarding the size of Volklec’s share of the DRIVE35 funding, nor the split between public and private investment.
