Altilium, Enva partner on EV battery recycling

UK-based clean technology producer Altilium and waste management provider Enva agreed to collect and recycle electric vehicle (EV) batteries to recover lithium and other critical minerals.

Altilium will leverage Enva's network of 38 locations and relationships with automotive dealerships, the startup said on Monday. Under the agreement in principle, the companies will explore "several key initiatives" to facilitate their goal of creating a closed-loop economy for battery materials in the UK.

Altilium will extract critical minerals from the EV batteries taken from Enva's sites and recycle them into raw materials, including cathode active materials (CAM), that can be used in new battery manufacturing, it said.

The partnership will also provide feed for Altilium's planned facility in Teesside, which when ramped is expected to produce 30,000 metric tonnes (t)/yr of CAM — enough to meet more than 20pc of the UK's projected demand by 2030.

The company touts it can recover over 95pc battery metals through its EcoCathode process, which results in 20pc lower costs and a 60pc reduction in carbon emissions than through virgin mining.

By Alex Nicoll