Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark will announce later on today that £246 million is being earmarked for investment in battery storage technology over 4 years. The ‘Faraday Challenge’ is hoped to deliver a programme that will speed up research, innovation and scale up of battery technology. Mr Clark will say: “The work that we do through the Faraday Challenge will – quite literally – power the automotive and energy revolution where, already, the UK is leading the world.”

Innovate UK will take the lead in the initial £45 million stage to bring technology closer to the market through the right industrial collaborations. Battery storage is not just important as a means to provide grid support services but also increasingly taking a lead in decarbonising road transport. This follows the announcement of Volvo last week to deliver car ranges that all have hybrid or wholly electric models by 2019.