The UK Government has welcomed the work of innovative British companies, including Altilium, to build a robust circular economy for critical minerals, in its response to last year’s report on critical raw material (CRM) supply risks from the government’s Task and Finish Group.

As reported by Benchmark, the Department of Business and Trade has set out the action it plans to take to develop resilient and diversified supply chains for CRMs, including lithium and graphite, which are vital for the UK’s economic growth, net zero transition and national security.

In its response, the government highlights the UK’s importance as a strategic location for midstream processing, including refining and materials manufacturing, and also acknowledges the key role recycling will play in developing a circular economy:

“We warmly welcome industry’s intentions to make better use of CRM already in circulation – increasing recovery, reuse and recycling rates and resource efficiency, to alleviate pressure on primary supply.”

“The UK has world-leading recycling innovation, which can support a circular economy.”

According to Benchmark, battery demand is expected to quadruple in the UK by 2030, reaching over 100 gigawatt-hours (GWh) from passenger EVs alone.

Altilium is helping to meet this demand, by developing the UK’s first full EV battery circularity model—a unique customer offering that includes zero-carbon EV battery collection, black mass recycling, and chemical refining to produce cathode active material (CAM) for direct reuse in a UK EV supply chain.

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