Altilium, a UK-based clean technology group, is to open an EV battery recycling plant in Plymouth. The facility will span 18,000ft2 and be the first of its kind in the country.
It will use Altilium’s proprietary EcoCathode technology to recycle old lithium-ion batteries from EVs to help reduce waste and recover the metals needed to power new EV batteries being built in the UK.
Altilium’s new plant will have the capacity to recycle over 200,000kg of batteries every year, resulting in production of high volumes of cathode active materials (CAM) – a crucial component for manufacturing of EV batteries. These valuable materials will then be used to manufacture new EV batteries in the UK.
The plant was visited by Councillor Tudor Evans OBE, leader of Plymouth city council, which has pledged to make the city carbon neutral by 2030, exceeding the UK’s objective of net zero by 2050.
Councilor Evans said, “This really hits all the right notes. A company that is expanding and creating jobs in Plymouth, that is at the cutting edge of finding ways to recycle EV batteries and helping to address issues that changing to new, greener forms of transport create. It is great to see a company that’s really on board with our goals of working toward becoming carbon neutral and doing our bit to tackle climate change.”
The Southwest of the UK is set to play an important role in the UK’s drive to become a clean energy superpower, with lithium mining taking place in Cornwall and the UK’s largest gigafactory being built in Somerset.
Altilium is presently working with car manufacturers, such as JLR and Nissan, to develop a circular economy for battery materials in the UK and to demonstrate the successful production and qualification of new batteries using recycled materials.
