£1bn Battery Plant Opens to Power New Nissan Leaf
AESC's massive new Sunderland facility has begun producing batteries for the new Nissan Leaf crossover. The 15.8GWh plant could supply 210,000 vehicles annually and employs over 1,000 people.
A £1 billion battery manufacturing plant has opened in Sunderland, marking a significant milestone for UK electric vehicle production. The facility, operated by Chinese-owned AESC, has begun supplying batteries for the new Nissan Leaf crossover produced at the adjacent Nissan plant, Autocar reports.
The massive 10-storey facility replaces AESC's previous 1.8GWh plant with a dramatically expanded 15.8GWh capacity. The plant houses Europe's largest 'clean room' for electrode production and will employ over 1,000 people when it scales up to four production lines "in a matter of months".
Quality control takes priority over production speed at the new facility. Connor Huntingdon, AESC's quality manager, explained that every delivery of raw materials faces rigorous testing that can take up to two and a half hours. "If we have question marks, that material will not go to the production department," he said. "We will block it. We will stop it."
The emphasis on quality reflects hard-learned industry lessons, with major recalls from Hyundai, Porsche, Ford and General Motors highlighting the risks of faulty battery production. At Sunderland, even minute contamination levels can destroy cells over time, with moisture and metallic particles being particular concerns.
AESC has been producing Leaf batteries in Sunderland since 2012, originally as a Nissan subsidiary before Chinese firm Envision Group acquired the company in 2018. The new facility represents a major vote of confidence in UK electric vehicle manufacturing.
