2. What plans does the Welsh Government have to secure investment in electric vehicle battery production in Wales? OQ56105

I thank the Member for that question, Llywydd. Plans to use the research, development and manufacturing strength of the sector in Wales have already secured two sites at the top of the UK shortlist for bigger factory production of electric vehicle batteries, and four different research and commercialisation projects, as part of the £380 million Faraday battery challenge.

Thank you very much for that information—that's very encouraging. This may seem a slightly odd question in the middle of this pandemic, but we do know that we have to stay focused on a green recovery, and to meet our climate and air pollution targets as well. We know that all new vehicles sold in the UK will need to be powered by renewable technology by 2030, and therefore existing vehicle production facilities using fossil fuels are a depleting asset, unless they are converting to electric or hydrogen. And I'm very pleased to hear from Hitachi that they are trialling the use of batteries on trains to run on main lines that the UK Government has failed to electrify. And that obviously includes the main line that runs west from Cardiff Central, so this could be highly relevant to avoiding the belching diesel fumes on trains heading west in the future. But trains are a niche product compared to cars, and I just wondered what can be done to really work with existing UK vehicle manufacturers to see that Wales has a unique offer in terms of our engineering and compound semiconductor expertise in which to site electric vehicle battery production at scale.

Llywydd, I thank Jenny Rathbone for that very important question. She's absolutely right to point out that, while coronavirus preoccupies us as an immediate public health crisis, the crisis of climate change has not gone away and needs to still be at the forefront of our thoughts. The Member will be pleased to know that, in the automotive transformation fund, which I didn't refer to in my original answer, Wales has succeeded in getting three projects funded in the first round of that fund. All three of them are in that south-east corner of Wales—in Newport and in Caldicot—where we have that cluster of expertise in semiconductors. And I think that is a recognition of the fact that we have that source of expertise that has developed here in Wales and which will be of advantage to the whole of the UK. And, indeed, there are UK manufacturers who are already contributing to the effort that Jenny Rathbone mentioned—Hydro Aluminium, for example, a company that is preparing components for the all-electric London taxi fleet. And that's just one example; there are other firms in Wales already supplying components in this very important area.

And as for trains, I was very grateful to have the chance to meet just before Christmas the senior vice-president of Hitachi, who was visiting the United Kingdom, and to explore with him the interest that Hitachi has in the work that we are doing here in Wales in the railway sector, planning for the future, making sure that we play our part in the great effort that will be needed, as Jenny Rathbone said, Llywydd, to make sure that our transport and our public transport in the future meets the challenge that climate change poses to us all. 

First Minister, you will be aware, I hope, that Britishvolt signed a memorandum of understanding with you and your Government in a bid to build the UK's first large-scale electric vehicle battery factory here in Wales. Now, despite the Vale of Glamorgan site being the initial favourite and the Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales informing us in October that he was in regular calls with Britishvolt, our nation has lost out in the race to be a global hub for the electrified vehicle industry. Britishvolt will be, sadly, taking it's £2.6 billion investment, 3,000 highly skilled jobs and up to 5,000 more in the wider supply chain to Northumberland. Why did you, as the First Minister, allow this battery to run flat on Britishvolt in Wales? And why did you not offer any financial incentives whatsoever to supercharge such an important industry and development for Wales? Diolch. 

Llywydd, I'm afraid the Member read out her question but was not very well informed about it. We continue to be in discussions with Britishvolt. The move to Blyth is their first factory. As I said in my answer to Jenny Rathbone, Wales has two sites—the Bro Tathan site and the Baglan site—in the top five of the United Kingdom Government's shortlist for gigafactory production of electric batteries. We continue to be in discussion with Britishvolt. They have ambitions beyond Blyth, and Wales is very much on their list for the next phase of their development. I am very keen that we continue to pursue those possibilities and certainly not to run down the efforts that the company made with the Welsh Government to bring jobs and activity to Wales.