Altilium completes engineering study for its commercial-scale black mass recycling plant, set to be the largest in the UK and possibly European region, processing a mixed feedstock including LCO consumer scrap, LFP and NMC old batteries and production scrap for an output of 40,000 MT of black mass per year.

The Battery Recycling Station (BRS) will be located at Altilium’s ACT 4 recycling hub in Teesside and will supply feedstock for recycling and refining to precursor cathode active P-CAM and CAM. The ACT4 recycling hub location benefits from nearby UK EV car manufacturers, cell producers, and exceptional logistics and reinforced our commitment to closing the loop on a UK battery supply chain

Pioneering Wet Shredding Technology: A UK First in Battery Recycling

In a UK first, the ACT 4 BRS facility will incorporate a state-of-the-art wet shredding and robotics system, setting a new benchmark for battery recycling safety and efficiency. This innovative approach offers several key advantages over traditional dry shredding methods currently used in the UK:

• Safety: By using water to cool materials and suppress fires, wet shredding minimizes the risk of thermal events.
• Efficiency: The system enables faster processing with higher throughput, reducing material to uniform sizes in a single pass.
• Purity: Wet shredding captures black mass with greater purity, maximizing the recovery of valuable metals.

The UK is poised to see a significant amount of scrap material available for battery recycling, driven by its position as the largest second-hand market in the EU and the rapid adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). With the upcoming 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars, EV adoption is set to surge, leading to an increased volume of end-of-life batteries requiring recycling. However, recycling opportunities will arise much earlier due to the need to process manufacturing scrap from UK Gigafactories. This scrap, which includes defective cells, unused electrode material, and cells that fail quality control, could initially reach up to 30% during production scale-up before stabilizing at around 10%. Consequently, production scrap is expected to be the primary source of recycling material throughout the 2020s.

The Altilium full battery circularity model will be a unique customer offering in the UK, encompassing zero carbon EV battery collection, black mass recycling and chemical refining to produce 30,000 MT of battery-ready P-CAM/CAM, making it one of the largest projects in the European region. Our approach will ensure a stable domestic low carbon battery supply chain, reducing mining and dependence on overseas suppliers.

Altilium has been awarded funds under the UK Government Innovate Launchpad: Net Zero, CR&D Tees Valley, R2 to bolster growth within the net-zero innovation cluster centred on Tees Valley. The plant was designed in conjunction with leading engineering consultancy Hatch.