Altilium, a UK-based clean technology group focused on supporting the transition to net zero, recently announced the successful production of the UK’s first EV battery cells using recycled cathode active materials (CAM) at the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC), the UK’s national battery manufacturing scale-up facility.
The breakthrough marks the first time that recycled materials have been used to produce new battery cells in an industrial environment in the UK and marks an important step towards the development of a circular economy for EV batteries.
The pouch cells were manufactured at UKBIC’s state-of-the-art facility in Coventry using Altilium’s recycled EcoCathode™ NMC 811-2036 CAM, produced at its recycling facilities in Devon. By recovering these critical metals from end-of-life EV batteries and Gigafactory waste, Altilium is not only reducing the UK’s reliance on imported raw materials but also cutting the carbon footprint of battery manufacturing, making EVs even greener.
The battery cells will now undergo comprehensive validation studies with a leading automotive OEM, supporting their regulatory and sustainability targets. Under the EU’s Battery Regulations, new EV batteries sold into the EU will need to contain minimum levels of recycled lithium, nickel and cobalt from 2031, with further increases in 2036.
Altilium’s battery cells are the first to be manufactured in the UK, complying with the new regulations. The recycling process begins with the dismantling and shredding of end-of-life EV batteries to produce a fine powder known as black mass. This black mass is then processed using Altilium’s EcoCathode™ process, which is able to recover over 95% of the critical battery metals, including lithium. The cathode metals are then upcycled to produce a high-nickel NMC 811 CAM, ready for re-use in a new battery.
Dr Christian Marston, Altilium co-founder and COO, commented:
“This milestone marks the first time full battery circularity has been achieved in the UK, from recovering critical minerals, including lithium, from end-of-life EV batteries and upcycling them into a high-performance cathode, to manufacturing a new battery for validation with a leading UK automotive OEM. Through this collaboration with UKBIC, we are moving beyond the emerging black mass recycling industry and ensuring that these critical battery materials remain in the domestic supply chain. Having access to a manufacturing facility like this allows us to scale up and develop this innovative work, which is helping to position the UK at the forefront of sustainability and decarbonisation.”
Ameir Mahgoub, UKBIC’s Head of Product Engineering, added:
“We’re delighted to have been part of the team creating the UK’s first battery cells made using CAM containing recycled material. This pioneering project could be just the start of a journey that sees the UK becoming less reliant on imported materials and create a new market in recycled EV batteries. We look forward to collaborating with Altilium on this exciting project as they take it forward.”
By demonstrating at-scale manufacturing of battery cells using recycled CAM, the collaboration with UKBIC is helping to advance commercialisation of Altilium’s technology, paving the way for supply deals with automotive OEMs and battery manufacturers and de-risking investment in further scale-up, including construction of the UK’s largest planned commercial plant for EV battery recycling and CAM production.
Altilium’s planned ACT4 recycling plant in Teesside will have capacity to produce 30,000 tonnes of CAM a year – enough to meet nearly 20% of expected UK demand by 2030.
The scale-up of Altilium’s recycling operations will also deliver wider benefits for the UK economy and the environment. By developing a domestic, sustainable source of battery raw materials, Altilium is helping to meet the growing demands of new green industries, such as EV manufacturing, while reducing the UK’s reliance on mined raw materials and supporting the transition to net zero.
Independent analysis of Altilium’s recycled materials has already revealed improvements in quality compared to mined materials, as well as significant reductions in climate change impact and cost:
- According to research carried out by Imperial College London, Altilium’s recycled EV battery materials can match, and even surpass, the performance of virgin mined materials, enabling longer battery life, faster charging times and lower costs.
- Lifecycle analysis (LCA) by Minviro has found that cathode materials produced using Altilium’s recycled materials could be up to 74% lower in climate change impact compared to using primary mined materials from a Chinese supply chain.
About Altilium
Altilium is a UK-based clean tech group that will reshape the UK and European automotive supply chain by offering high volume, low carbon domestic sources of cathode and anode materials from recycling waste streams already in circulation, such as end-of-life batteries.
The company’s proprietary EcoCathode™ process converts end-of-life EV batteries and manufacturing scrap into domestic, sustainable, battery precursors, cathode active materials (CAM) and cathode precursor (pCAM) for direct reuse in new batteries.Altilium’s first mini-commercial plant recently commenced operations in Plymouth while its planned Teesside plant will be one of the largest EV battery recycling facilities in Europe. The plant will have the capacity to process scrap from over 150,000 EVs per year, producing 30,000 MT of CAM, enough to meet around 20% of the UK’s expected needs by 2030.
The company is backed by SQM Lithium Ventures, the corporate venture arm of the lithium business of Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (SQM), and Japanese trading and investment group Marubeni Corporation.
For more information, go to www.altilium.tech
About UKBIC
UKBIC is the UK’s £200m national manufacturing battery development facility, providing manufacturing scale-up and skills for the battery sector.
The purpose-built facility is where businesses develop their battery manufacturing processes at the scale they need to move to industrial production and where those working in the industry can develop new skills by working on the production line, alongside UKBIC’s specialist teams.
Created with an initial investment of £130m, an additional £74m has now been committed by UK Research and Innovation to enhance the facility by installing a new pilot line to bridge the gap between UKBIC’s larger scale offering and small-scale demonstrators available elsewhere. Funding is also being used to support the construction of a new battery development laboratory, a clean and dry zone, and cell cyclers.
Opened in July 2021, the Coventry-based facility can be accessed by organisations with existing or new battery technology, or companies looking at entering the industry.
UKBIC doesn’t retain customer IP. UKBIC’s construction was part-funded through the West Midlands Combined Authority and was delivered through a consortium of Coventry City Council, Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership and WMG, at the University of Warwick.
