December 1, 2022: Inexperienced Lithium, the chemical subsidiary of mining big Trafigura, is to construct the UK’s first large-scale lithium refinery in Teesside, in northern England.
On the similar time Altilium Metals, a lithium recycling start-up, has additionally chosen Teesside for, it claims, the biggest deliberate recycling facility for end-of-life EV batteries.
Inexperienced Lithium expects building of its plant to take three years, create greater than 1,000 jobs and fee the plant in 2025. The refinery will present 50,000 tons of low-carbon, battery-grade lithium chemical per yr.
Altilium has secured £3 million ($4.45 million) in authorities innovation awards and says the recycling plant will course of battery waste from 150,000 EVs a yr – offering a sustainable provide of essential metals to help the rising manufacturing of EVs.
Europe has a rising urge for food for prepared lithium sources. About 89% of hard-rock lithium, for instance, is processed in East Asia.
Inexperienced Lithium CEO Sean Sargent stated: “And not using a native provide, Europe’s battery vitality storage and automotive sectors will fail. Inexperienced Lithium seizes the chance introduced by future excessive demand in Europe and potential future uncertainty within the Chinese language market.
Sargent stated the plant would help the UK’s plans to develop native and regional trade and “begin to meet the pressing wants of the battery manufacturing and automotive sectors throughout the UK and EU”.
