APC announces latest support for auto industry transition including Somerset gigafactory
Thu 09 April 2026
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The Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) has announced the latest projects to be supported under the Government-backed DRIVE35 programme. The funding includes £380m for the development of a new battery gigafactory in Somerset.
The funding will go to Agratas, part of the Tata Group and parent company of JLR. Agratas combines pioneering research, world-class engineering, and sustainable design to deliver high-performance battery solutions.
This investment comes through the Department for Business and Trade’s DRIVE35 Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF), facilitated by the APC. The initiative is aimed at accelerating the transition to zero emission vehicle (ZEV) manufacturing and bolstering the UK's automotive supply chain.
There is also £89.8 million in total for four DRIVE35 competition streams including Collaborate, Demonstrate, Scale-up Fund, and Scale-up Feasibility Studies. The funding aims to boost domestic manufacturing, grow industrial capability, and strengthen sovereign supply chains across the country.
Julian Hetherington, Automotive Transformation Director at the APC, said: “This globally significant investment by Agratas reinforces the UK’s accelerating position in pursuit of road transport decarbonisation through the production of vital high-performance batteries for electrified vehicles.”
Minister for Industry Chris McDonald said: “Our Modern Industrial Strategy is central to this government’s growth mission, and by funding our automotive sector, we are creating the right conditions for increased investment, economic growth, and jobs across the country.
The Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) provides capital funding to support the industrialisation of zero emission vehicle technologies and thus to safeguard and create highly skilled jobs, attract private investment, and drive emissions reductions, whilst securing future zero emission vehicle manufacture in the UK by building an internationally competitive EV supply chain through the transition, upgrading, or establishment of new manufacturing facilities.
See the APC website for more details about funding opportunities through DRIVE35.
Image courtesy Agratas
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