BP will invest up to £50 million to create an electric vehicle battery development and test facility that will be located in Pangbourne, Berkshire.
The facility is projected to “help advance the development of fluid technologies and engineering for hybrid and fully battery electric vehicles”.
The facility is targeted to open by the end of 2024. The Pangbourne campus is technically open and is currently conducting “research and development of EV fuels, lubricants and fluids”.
The goal is to develop advanced e-fluids capable of managing the temperature inside the battery, enabling ultra-fast charging and increased efficiency, which will help increase the EV’s range and extend the life of the drivetrain system.
The analytics lab is also expected to make applications beyond electric vehicles – BP says the technology “could also be applied to thermal management fluids for data centers where demand is increasing exponentially”.
“We’re backing Britain. We’re fully committed to the UK’s energy transition,” said Louise Kingham, BP UK’s head of country, adding: “This additional investment will help accelerate the transition to EVs by developing solutions to help decarbonise the transport sector. This is another example of our ambitious plans to do more, and go faster.”
Investments were made at the same time as soaring oil and gas prices. This gives BP the opportunity to enter the growing charging market.
Previously, BP had announced major investments in Spain and Portugal to set up an electric vehicle charging network with Iberdrola. BP has ordered a thousand fast charging stations from Tritium in April, which will be installed in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
