From Battery Ambition to Battery Reality – The Atkins Report
Wednesday, 11 November 2026
Having supported Battery Cells & Systems Expo for the past three years, I’ve watched the battery conversation change significantly. A few years ago, much of the excitement centred on chemistry: solid-state, silicon anodes, sodium-ion, ever-higher energy density and the tantalising prospect of the “million-mile battery”- that’s longevity, not range of course! Those innovations still matter enormously, but as we head towards the 2027 Expo, another question is becoming equally important:
Where will the batteries actually be made?
Europe has discovered that inventing battery technology and manufacturing it competitively at scale are very different things. The European Commission is responding. Its €1.8 billion Battery Booster initiative includes €1.5 billion of support for European cell manufacturers, while the wider political conversation increasingly revolves around local content, industrial resilience and what “Made in Europe” should actually mean – and how much, if at all, will the UK be included in that definition?
Meanwhile, Britain has its own battery industrial challenge. Agratas is constructing its huge battery manufacturing facility in Somerset, while AESC continues to develop its presence in Sunderland. However, recent developments have also demonstrated just how difficult gigafactory economics can be. These are enormous, capital-intensive projects that simultaneously require customers, competitive energy, skilled people, resilient supply chains and patient capital. And I’ve visited a few around the world – most recently Verkor in Dunkirk (I shared a video record of that trip on LinkedIn of course)!
And hovering above all of that…The UK’s ZEV Mandate is currently under review (at time of writing Oct 20th), with the government examining its trajectory, compliance mechanisms and the pathway towards the 2030 phase-out of new cars powered solely by internal combustion engines and 100% zero-emission new car and van sales by 2035.
Then there is regulation coming from Europe. From February 2027, the EU Battery Passport will bring considerably greater transparency around carbon footprint, materials, performance and supply chains – requirements that will matter to British companies exporting batteries and battery-containing products into Europe too.
So batteries are no longer simply a technology story. They are becoming an industrial strategy story, an energy story, a supply-chain story and increasingly a geopolitical story – or as I like to call where we are heading: the dawn of Electrostates!
So when we gather at the NEC Birmingham on 16 – 17 June 2027, I suspect the most important question won’t simply be: How good can batteries become? It will be: Who can actually build them – sustainably, competitively and at scale?
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About The Atkins Report
As part of our journey towards Battery Cells & Systems Expo 2027, we’re delighted to launch a new content series authored by Roger Atkins, global electric vehicle, battery and mobility expert, and member of the event Steering Committee. Every two months, Roger will share his take on the latest industry developments, emerging trends and key challenges impacting the battery value chain, while highlighting the people, technologies and innovations shaping the future of electrification.