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Motor Vehicles: Batteries

Asked by Mr Richard HoldenConservativeDepartment for Business and TradeTabled Answered 24 November 2025UIN 92090

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support UK car manufacturers in developing and commercialising solid-state battery technology.

Answered by Chris McDonald

The Government has made the UK's largest single commitment to battery R&D of £452 million to 2030 in the new Battery Innovation Programme (BIP). This programme builds on the Faraday Battery Challenge to drive cross-sector innovation in emerging and next generation technologies, including Solid-State Batteries. BIP will target technical skills gaps to develop engineers and scientists of the future, connect academic researchers with UK industry, and fund investor partnerships that improve access to investment for innovative battery companies ready to commercialise and scale in the UK.

This sits alongside DRIVE35, our long-term £2.5 billion commitment to zero emission vehicle manufacturing which provides capital support and additional R&D funding for strategic vehicle technologies, accelerating their commercial scale-up.

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