Energy

Megawatts as a production constraint — gigafactories, grids, and the plants that make the transition.

October 2026

News · Energy

Sumitomo Electric opens the UK's first HVDC subsea cable factory at Nigg

The £350m plant at Nigg on the Cromarty Firth will make 525kV cable for National Grid's Sea Link and SSEN Transmission's Shetland 2. Sea Link's planning decision is due by 30 October, and Shetland 2 has not yet applied.

The Industrial Brief · 20 Oct 2026 · 4 min

Now · Energy

Microsoft pulls out of Nscale's planned data centre in Loughton, Essex

Microsoft was the only announced customer for Nscale's planned site, The Telegraph reported. Neither the paper nor Microsoft has said why it pulled out. Nscale says it is looking at other ways to power the site.

The Industrial Brief · 18 Oct 2026 · 2 min

News · Energy

Eligible manufacturers in Great Britain can cut electricity costs by up to 25% from April 2027 — applications close on 30 November

The British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme is now open. Relief comes as exemptions from three electricity policy levies, not a cash grant, and only for sites that clear the sector, product and usage tests.

The Industrial Brief · 12 Oct 2026 · 5 min

News · Energy

GM is adding a manganese battery at Spring Hill

The Tennessee plant will be fitted for lithium manganese-rich cells for future GM electric vehicles. Building work finishes in 2028. The iron-phosphate cells already made there are for storage, not for cars.

The Industrial Brief · 1 Oct 2026 · 6 min

September 2026

News · Energy

Volkswagen wants Gotion inside its Spanish battery plant

Gotion’s board has agreed to take 49% of Sagunto. Shareholders and governments still have to say yes. The plant has not sold a cell.

The Industrial Brief · 29 Sept 2026 · 6 min

News · Energy

CATL has two cell lines on trial in Debrecen

Trial production started on 22 September. The company has not given a date for series production. The 100 gigawatt-hour figure is the finished plant, not the two lines now running.

The Industrial Brief · 28 Sept 2026 · 6 min

News · Energy

Factories have until 30 November to apply for the electricity cut

Applications for the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme run until 30 November. Relief is up to £40 a megawatt-hour, and only on grid power used to make an eligible product. A site under a quarter gets nothing.

The Industrial Brief · 25 Sept 2026 · 7 min

News · Energy

EnerVenue starts production at its Changzhou plant

EnerVenue begins mass production on Thursday. The Kentucky plan was $264 million and 450 jobs. The Chinese plant cost $20–50 million, is about 95 percent automated, and will employ about 400 people. North America is pencilled in for 2028.

The Industrial Brief · 24 Sept 2026 · 7 min

News · Energy

GM’s sodium-ion cells are planned for around 2029

A plan with Peak Energy around 2029 is a materials hedge, not a volume programme. Lithium still runs the car. Sodium is the attempt not to need China for the next chemistry.

The Industrial Brief · 22 Sept 2026 · 4 min

News · Energy

Agratas puts 2,900 on a Somerset site. JLR is cutting 4,000.

Tata’s battery plant near Bridgwater is going watertight and into fit-out, with cells due late-2027 for JLR. The same week, the car company is taking people out.

The Industrial Brief · 21 Sept 2026 · 4 min

In depth · Energy

For a heavy plant, the power connection now decides the site

For mills, furnaces, and gigafactories, megawatts have become as scarce as skilled operators. Location is now a power decision wearing a real-estate costume.

The Industrial Brief · 9 Sept 2026 · 8 min

In depth · Energy

Transformer and blade plants have not caught up with the orders

Wind blades, transformers, and switchgear are the hardware of decarbonisation. Many of the plants that make them would be familiar to a supervisor from 1998.

The Industrial Brief · 8 Sept 2026 · 7 min