Clean technology company Altilium has started construction on its EV battery recycling facility with integrated chemical refining capabilities in Plymouth.
The ACT 3 scale-up plant will have the capacity to recover critical battery minerals, including lithium, nickel and graphite, from 24,000 EVs each year.
Using Altilium’s proprietary EcoCathode process, battery scrap will be recycled into nickel mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) and lithium sulphate – critical intermediate materials for domestic production of battery cathodes.
Construction work at the four-acre site has already begun, with engineering design work being completed by engineering consultancy Hatch.
The plant will provide important learnings around materials handling, scalability and process optimisation, as well as sustainability and environmental compliance, as part of a clear scale-up pathway for the building of Altilium’s planned ACT 4 mega-scale refinery later this decade.
This planned mega-scale refinery will deliver battery metal salts, P-CAM and CAM – cathode active material – to UK gigafactories.
Altilium has received significant inward investment in the first quarter of 2025, including funding from global bank Mizuho Bank and Marubeni Corporation.
Dr Christian Marston, Altilium COO, said: “Our ACT 3 site marks the next phase in Altilium’s mission to close the loop on battery materials here in Britain.
“We are proud to be building this scale-up facility here in Plymouth, which will be a cornerstone of the UK’s EV battery supply chain.
“This is about taking a strategic and incremental approach to scaling a vital new industry, one that ensures value stays in the country and creates long-term skilled green jobs.”
