High-Tech Subsidy Wars Widen Global Divide

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s new factory in Kikuyo, Japan, on May 8.

Photographer: Toru Hanai/Bloomberg

The UK finally won its much-anticipated battery plant, with Tata Group’s announcement of a “gigafactory” to power the transition to electric vehicles.

The £4 billion ($5.2 billion) price tag is only half the story. The UK won out against Spain amid reports that Tata, the Indian owner of Jaguar Land Rover, was asking for £500 million in state aid.