UK-based battery recycler Altilium has produced its first cells using end-of-life electric vehicle (EV) batteries and gigafactory waste at the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UK BIC) in Coventry.
The cells will now undergo a validation study with a leading carmaker, Altilium said. EU regulations require EV batteries to have minimum levels of recycled lithium, cobalt and nickel from 2031, with the level rising in 2036.
"This milestone marks the first time full battery circularity has been achieved in the UK, from recovering critical minerals… to manufacturing a new battery for validation with a leading UK automotive OEM," Altilium chief operating officer Christian Marston said.
Altilium's planned recycling plant in Teesside will produce 30,000 t/yr of cathode active material, enough to meet nearly 20pc of forecast UK demand by 2030.
Altilium's recycled materials are also of a higher quality than mined materials, and offer significant reductions in climate change impacts and cost, according to research by Imperial College London released last month.
Lifecycle analysis has determined that Altilium's recycled materials could have a 74pc smaller climate change impact than primary mined materials from a Chinese supply chain, according to consultancy Minviro.
