Ford, Nissan, LG Corp, Samsung, and electric vehicle (EV) start-ups Britishvolt and InoBat Auto are currently in talks with the UK government over building EV battery factories, according to sources reported by The Financial Times.

The news comes ahead of the government's plan to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 and all hybrid cars by 2035.

According to the FT’s sources, Ford is exploring producing batteries in the UK for export to Turkey, to be used in the manufacture of its planned electric Transit Van, the carmaker's first all-electric van which is set to be released in 2022.

Nissan is also considering building a new EV battery plant in its existing manufacturing facility in Sunderland, according to the sources.

The Japanese manufacturer’s facility currently employs around 7,000 staff and has produced a car roughly every two minutes since it opened in 1986.

The new EV unit would produce 200,000 batteries a year and is slated to open in 2024 according to sources reported by the FT in May.

The Sunderland factory would produce 6 gigawatt hours of battery capacity a year and would be run by the company’s Chinese battery supplier Envision AESC.

However, negotiations are said to hinge on energy supply concerns at the site.

LG and Samsung are also reportedly also in early-stage negotiations with the UK government about building factories.

However, the Asian manufacturing giants are only set to proceed if they can secure supporting deals with major car makers, according to the sources.

In May, a report from the High Speed Sustainable Manufacturing Institute (HSSMI) claimed that the UK must rapidly accelerate the roll out of gigafactories and new battery technology development, or risk losing domestic car production altogether.

The research found that the gap between the rate of battery plant establishment and the forecast demand for electric vehicles means the UK “desperately” needs to build more of these battery facilities.

The study also suggested that without accelerated production of new gigafactories, there will be a potential shortfall of more than 95 GWh by 2040 and an investment hold of £10 billion.

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