Battery storage is critical to the UK’s energy and industrial security, write National Wealth Fund CEO Oliver Holbourn and Yasmine Moezinia from the Clean Technology Partnerships Initiative (CTPI)
Energy security and industrial security are inseparable. That’s a clear lesson we have learnt through the geopolitical shocks we have collectively endured over recent years, from the post-pandemic supply crunch, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East.
The UK’s industrial base has felt the brunt of this and, while not retreating into introspective protectionism, we need to respond to this instability as the new and potentially enduring reality, both to realise the opportunities and buffer against the risk.
Batteries have a key role here, and that’s why the National Wealth Fund and CTPI have highlighted this sector – which is front and centre of the Fund’s new strategy – as the focus of our first thought leadership paper, published today. In it we set out our assessment of the UK market in the context of global trends and spotlight the greatest opportunities and challenges.
There is a real urgency here. Timely, and targeted, intervention today can make a decisive difference tomorrow. Battery manufacturing is path-dependent, meaning once the opportunity is gone, it is gone forever. Targeting public capital at pivotal decision points can influence siting, scale and supply chain integration – crowding in private capital and realising long term strategic advantage.
The challenge is made more urgent by the structure of the global market. China dominates much of the battery value chain, leaving economies exposed to concentrated supply risks.
Yet, from a financing perspective, the barrier to UK battery manufacturing is not a lack of capital in the round, it is access to capital at those pivotal moments along the journey. Put simply, there is a mismatch between battery projects and the investment available to support them when they need it.
Battery technology often falls in an ‘uncanny valley’ for investment: too capital-intensive for venture capital, too risky for many infrastructure funds, and too long-term for growth equity.
The result is project developers and companies pitching around for sources of finance, often with limited success. We need to make it easier for them.
That is where the National Wealth Fund has a distinctive role. Its debt and guarantee tools can help facilitate major supply chain investments in cell assembly, cathode and anode production, and battery energy storage manufacturing. Its equity capability can back cutting-edge UK battery technology scale-up companies, stepping in where the commercial case is there but isn’t yet financeable solely by the private market at the speed or scale required. and shore up our domestic investments. This is part of the story to diversify and lessen strategic supply side dependencies.
The aim of the twin track approach – debt and guarantees to anchor large supply chain investment and equity to scale UK advanced tech firms – is to develop the battery production base, close the competitiveness gap and increase economic resilience. And it will avoid IP leakage overseas (a particularly important point given, with our R&D strengths, we have a real opportunity to compete in next generation technology).
The good news is there are already exemplars for how all this can be done; indeed the National Wealth Fund has already invested £830m into the sector, including electricity storage manufacturing and assembly.
As one example, [INSERT DETAILS OF DEAL TO BE ANNOUNCED.]
This is a perfect example of how the NWF can bridge the gap between innovation and scale, mobilise private capital and help secure a resilient UK battery ecosystem.
So, the economic and strategic case to build sovereign capability is obvious. The fact we can do this is evident. The will to do it is currently questionable. The UK will need around 110 GWh of battery capacity by 2030 and close to 200 GWh by 2040 to meet demand across automotive and other sectors, yet current plans fall well short.
If the UK builds the capacity needed, the sector could support more than 16,000 jobs and add over £1.9 billion in gross value to the economy each year by 2030.
It will also underpin compliance with the incoming rules of origin requirements, supporting frictionless trade with the EU, help producers scale up, and support next generation battery technology and supply chain companies to reach profitability.
Many of the gains would be felt in industrial heartlands, where automotive manufacturing underpins high-skilled jobs, local supply chains and regional growth – speaking to the Fund’s mission to drive place-based growth.
We should treat the battery sector as a test case for whether the UK is serious about building the industries that will underpin our future prosperity and security, not least because that should inject the much-needed urgency and help us find that missing collective will.
And we aren’t just admiring the problem here. As our joint paper concludes, the National Wealth Fund – together with government and other public finance institutions, including the British Business Bank, Great British Energy and UK Export Finance – have a central and active role to play. They need to work in tandem with each other and trusted partners.
As we said, this isn’t a retreat into introspection. We look forward to our domestic public finance institutions working with investors and partners at home and abroad to secure the investment needed. We hope our conclusions in this paper provide some markers for others grappling with similar challenges and encourage them to come on board.
If we collectively muster the will, we won’t immunise ourselves to global shocks, but we will weather them better, enhancing both energy security and industrial security, while realising opportunity.
Oliver Holbourn, CEO National Wealth Fund
Yasmine Moezinia Program Director, CTPI
Note: First published by Business Green 1 July, 2026: https://www.businessgreen.com/opinion/4532048/powering-britains-battery-future-uk-act-batteries
Powering up Britain’s battery future: Why the UK must act now on batteries
Battery storage is critical to the UK’s energy and industrial security, write National Wealth Fund CEO Oliver Holbourn and Yasmine Moezinia from the Clean Technology Partnerships Initiative (CTPI)
Energy security and industrial security are inseparable. That’s a clear lesson we have learnt through the geopolitical shocks we have collectively endured over recent years, from the post-pandemic supply crunch, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East.
The UK’s industrial base has felt the brunt of this and, while not retreating into introspective protectionism, we need to respond to this instability as the new and potentially enduring reality, both to realise the opportunities and buffer against the risk.
Batteries have a key role here, and that’s why the National Wealth Fund and CTPI have highlighted this sector – which is front and centre of the Fund’s new strategy – as the focus of our first thought leadership paper, published today. In it we set out our assessment of the UK market in the context of global trends and spotlight the greatest opportunities and challenges.
There is a real urgency here. Timely, and targeted, intervention today can make a decisive difference tomorrow. Battery manufacturing is path-dependent, meaning once the opportunity is gone, it is gone forever. Targeting public capital at pivotal decision points can influence siting, scale and supply chain integration – crowding in private capital and realising long term strategic advantage.
The challenge is made more urgent by the structure of the global market. China dominates much of the battery value chain, leaving economies exposed to concentrated supply risks.
Yet, from a financing perspective, the barrier to UK battery manufacturing is not a lack of capital in the round, it is access to capital at those pivotal moments along the journey. Put simply, there is a mismatch between battery projects and the investment available to support them when they need it.
Battery technology often falls in an ‘uncanny valley’ for investment: too capital-intensive for venture capital, too risky for many infrastructure funds, and too long-term for growth equity.
The result is project developers and companies pitching around for sources of finance, often with limited success. We need to make it easier for them.
That is where the National Wealth Fund has a distinctive role. Its debt and guarantee tools can help facilitate major supply chain investments in cell assembly, cathode and anode production, and battery energy storage manufacturing. Its equity capability can back cutting-edge UK battery technology scale-up companies, stepping in where the commercial case is there but isn’t yet financeable solely by the private market at the speed or scale required. and shore up our domestic investments. This is part of the story to diversify and lessen strategic supply side dependencies.
The aim of the twin track approach – debt and guarantees to anchor large supply chain investment and equity to scale UK advanced tech firms – is to develop the battery production base, close the competitiveness gap and increase economic resilience. And it will avoid IP leakage overseas (a particularly important point given, with our R&D strengths, we have a real opportunity to compete in next generation technology).
The good news is there are already exemplars for how all this can be done; indeed the National Wealth Fund has already invested £830m into the sector, including electricity storage manufacturing and assembly.
As one example, [INSERT DETAILS OF DEAL TO BE ANNOUNCED.]
This is a perfect example of how the NWF can bridge the gap between innovation and scale, mobilise private capital and help secure a resilient UK battery ecosystem.
So, the economic and strategic case to build sovereign capability is obvious. The fact we can do this is evident. The will to do it is currently questionable. The UK will need around 110 GWh of battery capacity by 2030 and close to 200 GWh by 2040 to meet demand across automotive and other sectors, yet current plans fall well short.
If the UK builds the capacity needed, the sector could support more than 16,000 jobs and add over £1.9 billion in gross value to the economy each year by 2030.
It will also underpin compliance with the incoming rules of origin requirements, supporting frictionless trade with the EU, help producers scale up, and support next generation battery technology and supply chain companies to reach profitability.
Many of the gains would be felt in industrial heartlands, where automotive manufacturing underpins high-skilled jobs, local supply chains and regional growth – speaking to the Fund’s mission to drive place-based growth.
We should treat the battery sector as a test case for whether the UK is serious about building the industries that will underpin our future prosperity and security, not least because that should inject the much-needed urgency and help us find that missing collective will.
And we aren’t just admiring the problem here. As our joint paper concludes, the National Wealth Fund – together with government and other public finance institutions, including the British Business Bank, Great British Energy and UK Export Finance – have a central and active role to play. They need to work in tandem with each other and trusted partners.
As we said, this isn’t a retreat into introspection. We look forward to our domestic public finance institutions working with investors and partners at home and abroad to secure the investment needed. We hope our conclusions in this paper provide some markers for others grappling with similar challenges and encourage them to come on board.
If we collectively muster the will, we won’t immunise ourselves to global shocks, but we will weather them better, enhancing both energy security and industrial security, while realising opportunity.
Oliver Holbourn, CEO National Wealth Fund
Yasmine Moezinia Program Director, CTPI
Note: First published by Business Green 1 July, 2026: https://www.businessgreen.com/opinion/4532048/powering-britains-battery-future-uk-act-batteries
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