UK government establishes £65m (Rs 640 crore) EV battery research institute

The Government has announced a £65 million (Rs 640 crore) research institute involving six UK universities to further electric vehicle (EV) battery technology. 

The Faraday Battery Institute incorporates academics from Cambridge, Oxford, Warwick, Imperial College London, Newcastle University and University College London.

The six universities are investing £13.7m (Rs 135 crore) to set up a headquarters for the project, which aims to nurture relationships between businesses and researchers to get technology on the road quicker and make it more accessible to consumers. 

It’s the latest development in the Government’s £246m (Rs 2,421 crore) investment in EV battery research. It has invested heavily in both EV development and autonomous technolgies, and aims to make the UK a hub of development of self-driving cars. 

The Dyson car project was first confirmed when the Government inadvertently exposed in a document £174m (Rs 1,713 crore) of investment in the brand’s Wiltshire operations with a view to furthering EV battery technology. 

Business secretary reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to making the UK a go-to place for EV battery technology, adding: “The Faraday Battery Institute will have a critical role in fostering innovative research collaboration between our world-leading universities and world-beating businesses to make this technology more accessible and more affordable.

“We have huge expertise in this area already and the Faraday Battery Institute collaboration between our six founding universities provides a truly unique opportunity for us to bring together our expertise and an effort in this area behind a common set of strategic goals to ensure the UK exploits the jobs and business opportunities.”