New partnership aims to recycle end-of-life lithium-ion batteries from old electric vehicles
Green tech firm Altilium Metals has announced it is pursuing a new partnership with Japanese trading and investment group Marubeni Corporation to develop an electric vehicle (EV) battery recycling businesses in the UK and Europe.
UK-based Altilium Metals announced yesterday it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Japanese group, paving the way for the development of the new venture.
As older EVs reach end-of-life, millions of batteries will need to be recycled over the coming decade. According to figures from consultancy McKinsey's Battery Insights report, more than one million tonnes a year of old batteries could be available by 2030, growing to nearly 20 million tonnes by 2040.
Altilium Metals said it is currently the only company in the UK recovering lithium, nickel, and cobalt from waste EV batteries at its Devon scale-up line.
The green tech firm confirmed it has recently completed a feasibility study for the UK's only planned EV battery recycling facility at a site on Teesside.
When operational, Altilium Metals said the plant will have the capacity to process scrap from more than 150,000 EVs per year, producing more than 20 per cent of the UK's planned battery-ready cathode active material (CAM) by 2030, which it said would make it one of the largest battery recycling projects in Europe.
Dr Christian Marston, Altilium Metals' chief technical officer, welcomed the new partnership. "Marubeni is a respected leader in the battery material industry, and we are excited to collaborate with them on our journey to develop a UK circular economy for critical battery minerals," he said. "Their strategic support will accelerate our growth as we look to scale up our vest-in-class recycling technology and build the infrastructure for us to get to net zero."
The companies are now set to work together to secure supplies of necessary feedstocks, including end-of-life batteries and scrap from battery factories, as well as further development of Altilium Metals' proprietary technology for producing CAM from old EV batteries.
Marubeni said it will also explore the potential for synergies with its existing assets, including trading expertise of battery materials, renewable energy supplies, and the supply of chemical reagents for the recycling process.
Kamran Mahdavi, chief executive at Altilium Metals, said: "We look forward to working with Marubeni to give the UK energy security and develop sustainable, low carbon sources of technology metals needed for a green energy future in the UK and a sustainable transport sector."
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