How is the UK re-working lithium-ion battery production networks?

As demand for electrical energy storage scales, production networks for lithium-ion battery manufacturing are being re-worked organisationally and geographically. The UK - like the US and EU - is seeking to onshore lithium-ion battery production and build a national battery supply chain.

Is the UK a 'global race' for lithium-ion batteries?

The UK too is seeking to onshore global production networks for lithium-ion batteries (LiB) and build a domestic battery supply chain. The UK case is instructive as the geopolitical dynamics of onshoring centre on maintaining the UK's role as an automobile manufacturing platform in the post-Brexit period rather than a general ‘global race’.

Why is the UK a good place to study a lithium ion battery?

The driver behind many of these innovations is the strength of the UK’s research base, which is consistently ranked as best in class across a wide range of areas. [footnote 86] Indeed, research at the University of Oxford in the 1970s made the lithium-ion battery possible.

Is the UK a 'Entrepreneurial State' for lithium-ion batteries?

These gaps reflect limits in the scope and scale of the UK government's efforts to act as an ‘entrepreneurial state’ with regard to lithium-ion batteries, particularly in the context of growing competition from Europe and the US in the wake of the US Inflation Reduction Act.

What is the UK case for lithium?

The UK case is unusual within growing work on lithium, as it focuses on the ‘downstream’ end of the LiB network in contrast to an extractive frontier.

What percentage of new cars use lithium-ion batteries?

Up to 60 per cent of new car sales by 2030 will use lithium-ion batteries. The battery of a Tesla Model S, for example, currently uses around 12 kg of lithium. However, the boom in EV car building means manufacturers are reliant on East Asia, including China, where 89 per cent of the world’s lithium is currently refined.