Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to boost UK battery production for electric cars.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have for phasing cobalt out of electric car production and for supporting the manufacture of high purity spherical graphite in the UK.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Government is aware of the social, environmental and supply concerns surrounding the mining of raw materials, including cobalt, for battery electric vehicles. We expect UK companies to adhere fully with UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the FCDO works on strengthening transparency, improving governance, and finding solutions to the complex challenges of extracting cobalt from artisanal mines.
We continue to work with industry via the Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) and the Faraday Battery Challenge to support the creation of an internationally competitive electric vehicle supply chain in the UK. Anode Active Material is a strategic priority in scope of the ATF, as part of the upstream supply chain for batteries.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) fires, and (2) deaths, were caused by e-bikes and e-scooters in each of the past five years for which figures are available.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office collects data on incidents attended by Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs), with this data including the cause of the fire and the source of ignition. This data is published in a variety of publications on Gov.UK.
Data collected through the Incident Recording System (IRS) does not include data on whether fire incidents attended were caused by or involved e-bikes or e-scooters. Therefore, the IRS also does not collect data on fatalities where the cause was an e-bike or e-scooter.
We are reviewing the IRS, and the data it collects, and considering what categories to record in the future. Adding new categories, including lithium-ion batteries, electric vehicles, e-scooters and e-bikes, to the data collection will be considered as part of the work to reform the IRS with a modern, secure, and flexible system.
Asked by: Earl Russell (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to control the import of faulty or dangerous products containing large batteries, such as e-bikes, and (2) to educate the public on safety guidance for such products; and what plans they have to require third-party approval or certification of such products prior to sale; and if they have any such plans, what is their timetable for implementing them.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is prioritising work to understand and tackle the risks presented by e-bikes and e-scooters and has commissioned research into the safety of lithium-ion batteries.
OPSS and Local Authority Trading Standards Services have powers to remove unsafe products from sale and are using data and intelligence to target unsafe products at the border, including those containing large batteries.
In terms of safety awareness, in addition to the required information supplied with the products, the Home Office has published new guidance for consumers on safe battery charging practices in the home.
The Government launched its Product Safety Review consultation on 2 August which explores the future of the UK’s product safety framework including consideration of third party conformity assessment requirements.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will create an independent body to set required safety standards for e-bike and e-scooter batteries.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
There are no current plans to establish such a body.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is responsible for the General Product Safety Regulations which set the safety requirements for batteries. OPSS and Local Authority Trading Standards Services already have the powers to remove unsafe products from sale and are using data and intelligence to target unsafe products.
OPSS is prioritising work to understand and tackle the risks of e-bikes and e-scooters and has commissioned research into the safety of lithium-ion batteries. This work will help inform how this issue is tackled in future.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much (a) public and (b) private sector funding for (i) battery and (ii) electric vehicle manufacturing has been announced since July 2022.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
Since July 2022, we have seen Tata Group announce an investment of over £4bn in a UK gigafactory. JLR have also announced plans to accelerate their shift to electric vehicles and have committed to a £15bn investment in their industrial footprint, vehicle programmes, autonomous, AI and digital technologies and people skills. In addition, in the wider electric vehicle manufacturing supply chain, we have seen Johnson Matthey announce an investment of over £60m in Hertfordshire to develop hydrogen technologies, Pensana announce an investment of £145m in a rare Earth metal refinery, and Ford announce a further £150m investment in Halewood to manufacture Electric Drive Units, in addition to their £227m investment announced in October 2021.
Details of our support to companies will be published in due course as part of our regular transparency data.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what research, if any, they have commissioned into the fire risk to public safety of lithium-ion batteries in e-scooters and e-bikes; and if so, whether this will be published.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has established a safety study to understand the data and evidence of the risks presented by e-bikes and e-scooters. This includes investigating incidents and taking enforcement action when needed, commissioning research, targeting unsafe products at the border and providing public safety information.
A research project on batteries has been contracted with Warwick Manufacturing Group, part of Warwick University and a centre for innovation in science and technology. This will examine the safety of the lithium-ion batteries within Personal Light Electric Vehicles. The research will be published in due course once completed.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the seriousness of the fire risk posed by lithium batteries in e-scooters.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has established a safety study to understand the risks presented by e-bikes and e-scooters. This includes understanding available data, investigating incidents, enforcement action when needed, targeting unsafe products at the border, and providing public safety information on safe use and charging.
OPSS commissioned Warwick Manufacturing Group, part of Warwick University, to conduct research examining the safety of the lithium-ion batteries within Personal Light Electric Vehicles.
These activities form part of cross Government work involving the Home Office, Department for Transport and OPSS, which is part of the Department for Business and Trade.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government (1) what plans they have to create a new regulatory framework for electric vehicle battery recycling, (2) when such plans will be implemented, (3) whether they will include making "second life" mandatory, and (4) whether they will introduce (a) standardised labelling to facilitate recycling, and (b) a mandatory minimum level of recycled content.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Defra is currently reviewing the existing UK Batteries Regulations, and a consultation is scheduled for the end of 2023. The review is expected to consider a range of measures promoting the recovery, reuse or recycling of all battery chemistry types in line with the waste hierarchy. This includes those batteries found in electric vehicles.
Electric vehicle batteries are no longer viable once they drop below 80% efficiency. By working with the relevant industries and Government departments, the Environment Agency is looking to produce an effective Electric Vehicle Batteries Resource Framework. The framework will look to set out end of waste criteria for electric vehicle batteries when put to second life applications or dismantled to constituent parts for recovery of metals. The main purpose to this framework is to embed the circular economy approach to end of waste for this waste stream.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has for the use of electric propulsion in Army vehicles.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Last year, the British Army announced a major step-change in its commitment to ultra-modern warfare with the publication of its Battlefield Electrification approach. A key part of the Future Soldier vision, the approach sets out how the Army will focus on an increase in the use of batteries, sustainable energy, and Hybrid Electric Drive (HED) technologies across its vehicle fleet.
https://www.army.mod.uk/media/17010/british-army-approach-to-battlefield-electrification.pdf