As the UK’s EV market grows, the demand for battery materials, particularly nickel, lithium, and cobalt, will surge. By 2030, the UK is expected to have 130 GWh of cell production capacity, translating to 132,000 MT of cathode material demand, over double the 2027 expected demand of 56,000 MT (APC, 2024). To meet this requirement, battery recycling will be crucial, and will supply 30-40% of the required materials.

The need for a domestic battery recycling industry goes beyond the immediate supply of raw materials. The UK is the largest second-hand market in the EU region with high EV adoption, leading to the need for end-of-life battery solutions later this decade. In 2030 the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will be banned, increasing EV adoption and old batteries.

Recycling opportunities will, however, occur much earlier through the need to recycle manufacturing scrap generated during the battery production process itself in UK Gigafactories. Production scrap originates in many different areas, such as cells that fail to meet quality control standards, defective cells and modules or unused excess electrode material. Production scrappage could be as much as 30% during the initial scale up and optimisation phase, before falling back to about 10%. Production scrappage is expected to be the primary source of recycling material throughout the 2020s.

Altilium’s Full Circular Approach: Beyond Black Mass

Altilium is advancing beyond traditional “black mass” processing in the UK, which involves the initial shredding of batteries to recover valuable metals, such as lithium and upcycling to battery ready materials of the latest chemistry.

While black mass is a crucial intermediate, it requires further processing to extract materials with the necessary purity for battery manufacturing. Altilium’s proprietary EcoCathode™ process converts this black mass into high-margin, battery-ready Precursor Cathode Active Materials (P-CAM) and Cathode Active Materials (CAM), at over 95% efficiency and could reduce the cost of battery raw materials by up to 20% and carbon by greater than 60% compared to virgin materials. CAM is the final format essential for manufacturing new EV batteries and is up to ten times more valuable than black mass alone.

Currently, much of the UK’s black mass is exported to countries like India, leading to a loss of critical minerals needed for the domestic energy transition. Establishing a UK-based lithium-ion battery recycling industry is crucial for creating a resilient, sustainable and secure supply chain. Cost-effective and efficient recycling in the UK will not only encourage parts of the battery supply chain and manufacturing to locate to the UK, but also spur innovation and enhance the UK’s position in the global battery economy.

Currently, the UK does not have any operational commercial-scale hydrometallurgy capacity and Altilium’s approach addresses this by focusing on onshore processing and securing a domestic supply chain. Our planned Teesside recycling hub (ACT 4) will process battery waste from over 150,000 EVs and create 30,000 MT of CAM, making it one of the largest projects in the European region.

Integrating Recycling into the UK’s Battery Manufacturing Strategy

The development of a robust battery recycling industry is integral to the UK’s broader battery manufacturing strategy. Domestic recycling will play a pivotal role in securing critical minerals, giving UK energy security and economic resilience, lowering carbon and reducing the environmental impact of hard rock mining.

Regulations are also forcing Automakers to close the loop on EV batteries with new EU regulations, which include UK OEMs exporting to the region, mandates the inclusion of minimum recycled content levels in new batteries starting 2031, as part of the EU’s ambitious efforts to promote battery recycling and enhance sustainability across the battery value chain.

Altilium’s commitment to establishing a “full battery circularity model” including the zero-carbon transportation of batteries, black mass recycling and chemical refining to battery ready CAM positions the company at the forefront of sustainable battery material production, supporting the UK’s net-zero goals and reinforcing the nation’s leadership in clean transport.