Major battery skills academy launched in Durham to train gigafactory workers

The opening of the National Battery Training & Skills Academy. From left: René Koglbauer of Newcastle University; Andy Broadbent, principal and chief executive of New College Durham; Kim McGuinness, North East Mayor; Alison Maynard, deputy principal of New College Durham and Jeff Pratt head of UK operations at AESC. (Image: Mark Savage Photograpy)

A £1m skills academy designed to train the battery engineers of tomorrow has been launched in the North East.

The National Battery Training & Skills Academy has launched at New College Durham, in collaboration with Newcastle University, and will initially support battery manufacturer AESC at its forthcoming second gigafactory on Wearside. The Nissan, BMW and Mercedes supplier has provided much of the high tech equipment for the academy's hands-on learning facilities - including machinery from its original gigafactory.

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