West Sussex-based Ricardo plc is making progress with its plan to open a multi-million-pound manufacturing facility for batteries in Rotherham.

The company is involved in the niche manufacture and assembly of high-performance products, notably as an engine supplier for McLaren Automotive. Now Ricardo could be joining McLaren with a facility in Rotherham, after Sheffield City Region Combined Authority approved a BIF grant of £1,980,000 for Ricardo in a bid to secure the £10 million investment.

Ricardo (www.ricardo.com) is already a leader in the development of electric-vehicle battery systems, and it works with some of the world’s leading automotive manufactures — from mainstream OEMs to EV specialists.

A Tier One member of the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), it has previously been awarded a major contract by a German automotive manufacturer for battery testing and development.

It is also assisting Volvo Cars with the provision of a large-scale test programme to assess new lithium-ion cells, and it completed an EV sports-car battery manufacturing concept programme last year.

The company said at the time that this was a key milestone in its aim to become the niche battery manufacturer of choice for high-performance hybrids and EVs.

The project saw Ricardo’s manufacturing specialists work in partnership with its hybrid and electric systems engineering group to develop an assembly and manufacturing process for an innovative battery pack based on the exacting requirements of the vehicle manufacturer.