A new report commissioned by the Department for Business and Trade highlights the importance of developing the UK’s recycling capabilities to meet growing demand for critical raw materials and reduce dependency on overseas supply. 

As the report notes, a secure supply of critical minerals is vital for the UK’s economic growth and security, industrial strategy and clean energy transition. Currently, the UK is reliant on the international market to supply the majority of its critical minerals. In the case of critical battery metals, such as lithium and cobalt, international supply is dominated by China, raising concerns about supply chain security. 

The report, written by Frazer Nash Consultancy in partnership with Critical Minerals Association and Materials Processing Institute, found strong capability in recycling materials in key industries, including Lithium-ion batteries, where companies such as Altilium are building domestic capacity to ensure critical metals are recovered from end-of-life batteries and production scrap, and re-used in the UK supply chain. 

It also calls sets out a number of policy recommendations to improve the economics of recovering and recycling critical materials, including: 

• Increased funding to support and de-risk investment in innovation. 

• Amendments to waste classifications – making critical mineral waste easier to recycle. 

• Centralised support for planning and permitting – allowing pilot sites to become operational sooner. 

• An extension of the Energy Intensive Industries scheme to cover critical minerals – improving the competitiveness of UK firms. 

Continued growth in EV sales are creating “a substantial industry for the recycling of lithium-ion batteries” according to the report, especially as a growing volume of older models begin to reach end-of-life. Recycling these batteries and recovering the key critical minerals contained within them could supply between 39% and 57% of the demand for lithium, cobalt and nickel by 2040. 

To achieve these high levels of recycling, the UK needs to build hydrometallurgy process capability for processing of black mass. Currently most black mass produced in the UK is exported for refinement in Asia.  

At Altilium, we are committed to achieving a fully closed-loop UK battery supply chain, recovering and refining battery materials domestically. Using our proprietary low-carbon EcoCathode™ process, Altilium is the only company in the UK producing sustainable cathode precursor (pCAM) and cathode active materials (CAM) for production of new battery cells and re-entry into the UK automotive supply chain. 

By investing in innovative recycling solutions, we are helping to secure a sustainable future supply chain for critical minerals, delivering economic growth, energy security and lower carbon emissions for the UK. 

Read the full report here: 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-critical-minerals-midstream-and-recycling-capability-report