Britain launched a £246 million fund on Monday to boost the development and manufacturing of electric batteries, a major growth area for cars and energy.

The scheme, which allows those in business and academia to apply for government funds to work on a range of possible electric battery schemes, is part of Britain's industrial strategy which Prime Minister Theresa May published in January.

It is designed to take a more hands-on approach to developing key industries to help protect the economy as the UK leaves the EU. Automakers are racing to build greener vehicles and improve charge times in a bid to meet rising customer demand and meet air-quality targets, but Britain lacks sufficient manufacturing capacity, an area ministers are keen to build up.

The first tranche comprises a £45 million pot which will help to establish a ‘battery institute’ for research to help improve the affordability of the technology.

“Joining together the research, development, application and manufacture of energy storage technologies – and spec-ifically battery storage – is a huge opportunity for the energy sector and the automotive sector alike," business minister Greg Clark  said in Birmingham.

In May, representatives from politics, academia and business in Coventry pitched plans to receive part of the funds for a “national battery prototyping centre" to focus on research and development and testing.

Japan's Nissan already builds its electric Leaf in England, but the UK’s biggest carmaker, Jaguar Land Rover, builds its first low-emissions model in Austria.

Germany's BMW favours building its first electric model at its Oxford plant.