Details of the technology have not been revealed but the carmaker said developments will be spearheaded by a new £19.4m project that will team Nissan up with partners including Hyperdrive Innovation, Warwick Manufacturing Group, University of Warwick, Newcastle University and Zero Carbon Futures to create and prove new and improved manufacturing processes for the next generation of automotive batteries. The project is being co-funded by a £9.7m grant from the UK’s Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC).

Nissan said its investment in new EV battery production at its Sunderland plant signals its vision for the future of zero-emission motoring.

Paul Willcox, chairman, Nissan Europe, said: “With 200,000 customers around the world already, the Nissan LEAF has transformed the performance and perception of EVs and made Nissan the undisputed leader in EV technology.

“Today’s announcement reflects Nissan’s intention to remain EV leaders for many years to come, with our UK operations at the heart of our future innovations.”

The carmaker has a further two battery production sites globally, which supply battery modules for the LEAF as well as the e-NV200 van.