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McAlpine picks second MEP contractor for £4bn gigafactory

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NG Bailey has been appointed alongside another firm to deliver a range of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing services (MEP) for the new £4 billion Agratas gigafactory in Somerset.   

Agratas gigafactory in Somerset. Credit: Stantec.

It follows McAlpine being appointed main contractor for the first phase of the new battery-cell manufacturing facility, having signed a pre-construction services agreement (PCSA) to deliver Building One at the brownfield site near Bridgewater. 

The development of Building One will create around 2,100 construction jobs at peak times, many across Tier Three and Four of the supply chain. 

NG Bailey will now provide a full range of MEP services alongside MEP partner, TClarke, appointed earlier this month. 

Stantec was selected to provide integrated design services for Agratas, Tata Group’s global battery business, who are building the facility. 

NG Bailey CEO, Jonathan Stockton, said: “One of our goals as a business is to play a key role in supporting the transition to a lower carbon future, so we are delighted to be having such a vital role in this important project, which will have a significant impact on the UK’s ambitions for the decarbonisation of the economy.    

“Our talented team have a long track record in delivering projects of this scale, including as the principal contractor on UKBIC, and we are looking forward to using our market leading expertise and innovative use of offsite manufacturing to develop a wide range of bespoke solutions which will support the gigafactory in its next phase of development.”    

NG Bailey was recently principal contractor at the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC), while elsewhere it is leading on the delivery of lower emissions solutions for other clients through its MEP services.   

The new gigafactory in Somerset is set to cover an area of 244,710 sqm, more than 35 per cent larger than Wembley Stadium, and could become the largest gigafactory in the UK. 

Initially producing batteries for Jaguar Land Rover electric cars from 2026, by the early 2030s it is estimated the plant will produce nearly half of all car batteries for the UK automotive sector.    

TClarke chief executive, Mark Lawrence, previously said: “This is an exceptional project both in scale and national importance, with a strong engineering services focus. 

“Being involved at the heart of the design and construction for the UK’s first gigafactory is a significant success for TClarke in a number of ways. 

“Our partnership with Sir Robert McAlpine goes back for almost 100 years already – and so it is great to be collaborating once more as a major partner they trust to deliver landmark complex engineering projects.” 

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