The UK took a step closer to achieving full battery circularity last week, as Altilium’s recycled battery materials were successfully processed at the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) for the production of cathode electrodes. 

Altilium is building a domestic supply chain for sustainable battery materials in the UK, by recovering and refining critical cathode metals from end-of-life batteries, and upcycling to produce low-carbon cathode active materials (CAM). Most recyclers recover metals as “black mass,” but refining it to CAM takes recycling further, producing ready-to-use battery-grade materials.  

The cathode electrode is a key component in a lithium-ion battery and plays a crucial role in performance. It determines the battery’s capacity and energy density, as well as overall efficiency, and contains critical metals like lithium, cobalt and nickel.  

In a UK first, UKBIC is producing a cathode electrode using Altilium’s EcoCathode™ NMC811-2036 CAM, which is made from recycled battery materials at the company’s facilities in Devon. The cathodes will be used in the production of NMC 811 battery pouch cells, for validation by a leading UK automotive OEM, supporting their regulatory and sustainability targets. 

The production process at UKBIC’s manufacturing facilities involves several key steps, including: 

• Mixing: The cathode materials are mixed with a binder and NMP solvent into a slurry to ensure even distribution for consistent electrode performance. 

• Coating: The slurry is precision coated onto a half-width aluminium foil current collector using a roll-to-roll process. Precise control over thickness and uniformity is critical for battery performance.  

 The next stage of the process will involve the assembly of pouch cells at UKBIC, followed by comprehensive validation studies with a leading automotive OEM. The battery cells will be the first to be manufactured at UKBIC complying with the EU’s new Battery Regulations, which require minimum levels of recycled lithium, nickel and cobalt in new EV batteries from 2031.