Britain must invest in its own breakthrough battery technologies to avoid becoming dependent on countries such as China in the shift to net zero, the boss of a leading research institute has warned.
Professor Pam Thomas, chief executive of the Faraday Institution, said the UK needed “sovereign capabilities” and supply chains of its own, so that it was less vulnerable to geopolitical crises.
Her comments come after Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata announced plans for a £4bn battery “gigafactory” in Somerset, after reportedly securing subsidies worth £500m from the Government.
Ms Thomas said the gigafactory – which will produce about 40 gigawatt hours’ worth of batteries per annum – was an important step towards the institution’s recommendation that the UK secure an output of 100 gigawatt hours by 2030.
She acknowledged that China had raced ahead globally in terms of battery production capacity, and in some key areas of research, but said Britain was still in the race to achieve a “leadership position”.
Pointing to the need for batteries in the shift to green energy, Ms Thomas told the Telegraph: “At the moment, we are still competitive. And not not only that, but we should think of this as a sovereign resource for the UK as well.
“If supply chains are tied up in overseas hands and there are geopolitical factors in the future, as we’ve seen with other energy markets recently, with the war between Ukraine and Russia, having a sovereign capability is important, particularly when we’re talking about supplying electricity to the grid.
“We wouldn’t want to be bound into agreements, or be held up by supply chains that are not under our control as a nation.”
She added that important advances in technologies such as the sodium batteries being developed by the Chinese had also been made by researchers in Britain.
“So whilst it may be true, that China are forging ahead with technologies such as sodium ion, it’s technology that from a sovereign provision point of view that we would very much need within the UK as well, not necessarily for electric vehicles but particularly for static storage where sodium is particularly well suited for that,” she added.
Planners believe that Britain’s electricity grid needs to develop massive storage capabilities to manage the shift to net zero and a greater reliance on intermittent sources of renewable power such as wind and solar farms.
However, Ms Thomas said the Faraday Institution’s research programmes, which are funded by the government body Innovate UK, could use more certainty, with current funding set to run out in March 2025.
She said: “That programme is in place. But it needs to have longevity, because whatever happens with gigafactories, and I’m very optimistic there will be more, we will need to do research, because batteries are not finished.
“There’s been a first generation and now we need to do a lot more refinement, to improve their performance so that we get rid of things like [electric car] range anxiety, to lower their cost… and also, as I said, to improve resilience.
“Even if it’s not a matter of hostile actors, we don’t want to be having to go around mining for scarce minerals - it would be preferable to come up with chemistries that are more abundant and easier to access.
“So I think it’s imperative for the UK Government to continue with that research.”
Her comments came as Paul Atherley, chairman of lithium refinement startup Tees Valley Lithium, urged ministers to help foster the domestic battery mineral supply chains that would attract more gigafactories to the UK.
Mr Atherley said focusing on profitable “midstream” supply chain activities such as mineral refining played to Britain’s strengths in chemical engineering and would provide a reason for more car companies to set up shop here.
Lithium refining is currently dominated by China, which boasts more than half the world’s capacity, prompting fears that Beijing could put pressure on western countries by constricting global supplies.
Mr Atherley added: “Midstream is where China has dominance.
“That’s where we should be looking to draw on our chemical engineering heritage – it’s what we’re good at.
“We’ve got a chemicals manufacturing industry and it’s world-class. We’ve also got the biggest offshore wind farms in the world.
“So hook up with offshore wind and challenge the Chinese, by creating our own [battery] supply chain.”
Tees Valley Lithium has secured planning permission for a lithium refinery in Teesside Freeport, the largest refinery of its kind in Europe.
The company will import lithium feedstock from Australia and South America and use it to produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide and carbonate, which it will then export.
Mr Atherley has said the Teesside facility will draw its power from nearby offshore wind farms.
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiZWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRlbGVncmFwaC5jby51ay9idXNpbmVzcy8yMDIzLzA4LzA2L3NoaWZ0LXRvLW5ldC16ZXJvLWdyaWQtdGhyZWF0ZW5zLWRlcGVuZGVuY2Utb24tY2hpbmEv0gEA?oc=5
2023-08-06 14:23:00Z
CBMiZWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRlbGVncmFwaC5jby51ay9idXNpbmVzcy8yMDIzLzA4LzA2L3NoaWZ0LXRvLW5ldC16ZXJvLWdyaWQtdGhyZWF0ZW5zLWRlcGVuZGVuY2Utb24tY2hpbmEv0gEA
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar