Altilium has been awarded £18.5 million in grant funding through the UK government’s DRIVE35 Scale-Up Fund, delivered by the Department for Business and Trade in partnership with the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) and Innovate UK. The funding will support the construction of Altilium’s new ACT3 recycling facility, the UK’s first commercial refinery for recovery of critical battery materials from end-of-life EV batteries.
Located in Plymouth, Devon, the ACT3 plant will have capacity to process 24,000 EV batteries per year, producing high-value battery intermediates including nickel mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), lithium sulphate and graphite, which are all essential components for next-generation battery manufacturing.
By recovering these materials from recycled feedstocks, Altilium is establishing a domestic circular supply chain for low carbon battery materials in the UK, reducing reliance on imported raw materials, strengthening energy security and supporting the UK’s automotive sector.
Construction of the facility is expected to commence in summer 2026, with commissioning planned for end of 2027. Once operational, ACT3 will produce approximately 5,200 tpa nickel MHP, 8,000 tpa lithium sulphate (1,000 tpa LCE) and 5,400 tpa graphite, directly offsetting primary extraction and supporting the onshoring of EV battery supply chains.
The expansion is expected to create 70 new high value jobs in Plymouth, where Altilium already operates the UK’s only hydrometallurgical pilot plant for EV battery recycling. The project will also provide the foundation for the company’s industrial scale ACT4 recycling plant in Teesside, which will have capacity to process 150,000 EV batteries per year, producing 30,000 tonnes per year of cathode active materials (CAM).
Christian Marston, Altilium COO, commented, “By scaling our recycling technology and building the UK’s first commercial facility of its kind, we are closing the loop on battery materials and enhancing the growth, productivity and competitiveness of the UK automotive supply chain. We are grateful to the APC and the UK Government for this strong vote of confidence in our technology, our team and our role in building a domestic, circular battery supply chain.”
The £18.5m grant funding is expected to unlock further private finance from new investors and existing shareholders. Altilium has secured over £17m private investment to date, including strategic investments from SQM, Marubeni Corporation and Mizuho Bank.
Altilium’s proprietary hydrometallurgical recycling technology is capable of recovering over 95% of cathode and anode materials from battery waste. The technology has been validated at pilot scale, supplying battery-grade materials for cell trials under previous APC supported projects with JLR and Nissan. According to an independent lifecycle assessment (LCA), these recycled materials deliver up to 74% lower emissions than mined alternatives, enabling a greener and more secure UK automotive supply chain.
MHP is an intermediate nickel-cobalt product used for producing battery-grade nickel sulphate for use in high-energy-density EV batteries. Currently Indonesia is by far the largest global supplier of MHP, while China dominates the refining and supply of lithium and graphite. In the UK alone, demand for lithium is expected to increase by 1,100% by 2035, according to the UK Critical Minerals Strategy.
