Following a £100 million investment, Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port plant has become the UK's first fully electric car factory. The plant, located on the Mersey coast just south of Liverpool, produces vans and passenger cars such as the state-of-the-art Vauxhall Combo Electric, which runs on a 52kWh lithium-ion battery.
Plant director Dianne Miller recently received an Autocar Great Women Manufacturing award for her role in electrifying the plant, an important part of parent company Stellantis' goal to halve carbon emissions by 2030. We spoke to her about her hydrogen advancements. , local jobs and why it's important to keep vehicle manufacturing in the UK.
What motivates Vauxhall to accelerate full electrification?
We recognize that we need to decarbonize our future, which is why our ethos is to reach carbon neutrality as quickly as possible. We have made this one of our key strategic goals. We also recognize that the Vauxhall brand has a 120-year history and that to remain relevant we need to offer an electric variant to every model we make, and we are now doing this across the board. The Vauxhall factory at Ellesmere Port is now 100% electric, making it the first factory of its kind in the UK.
What kind of cutting-edge technology and infrastructure upgrades has Ellesmere Port invested in?
The main investment was the development of a battery factory. In an EV, each battery pack weighs approximately 350 kg. We have 18 people working on the battery packs per shift, or approximately 120 people per day. Each pack consists of 12 modules, each the size of a conventional 12-volt battery in an internal combustion engine (ICE) car, and workers must receive a high level of training to assemble them. In terms of sustainability, building here helps reduce carbon emissions. Because transporting carbon around the world is not environmentally friendly.
At Ellesmere Port, our ethos is that it's not just our products that need to be carbon neutral, it's our plants as well. To further enhance our carbon neutrality, we have switched to “4Wet technology” in our vehicle painting, reducing the number of times it needs to be baked in the oven. We made our factories smaller so we didn't need as much inventory, prioritized reuse, and reprogrammed robots that used to work in ICE cars to perform different tasks in electric cars.
What do you think the strategic implications are for Vauxhall and the wider automotive industry?
The original plan for the UK car industry as a whole was to ban new sales of ICE vehicles by 2030, but the government changed this to 2035. We remain committed to our goal of being fully electric by 2030, which is part of Stellantis' 50-unit reduction plan. % of 2021 carbon footprint by 2030 and become Net Zero globally by 2038. In the near future we hope to work with the HyNet North West Hydrogen Pipeline, which will require a supply of green hydrogen to power our system, and we plan to invest in on-site solar again. This means that the plant must also achieve carbon neutrality by 2027/28.
Lastly, what role does Ellesmere Fishing Port play in the local economy?
We are a large employer with over 1,000 employees working in our factories. We are working with the Welsh Government and the Northern Automotive Alliance to try and reach out to local parts suppliers who can be competitive with international suppliers as they do not have to cover delivery costs. And we have developed a new maritime logistics service with our own vessels, which are directly connected to our sister factory in Vigo. Peel Ports have created a special hub for us at Queen Elizabeth II Eastham Pier, just two miles from the factory. Sending parts this way requires around 14,700 truck movements on European roads every year and reduces logistics carbon emissions by 30%.
If you currently drive an electric car, or are considering driving an electric car in the future, please complete the simple form below to help us accelerate the electrification of UK roads and create a better environment for everyone.
To find out more about Vauxhall's EV range and the Electric Streets campaign, visit: Vauxhall