Page 167 - CW E-Magazine (6-5-2025)

News from Abroad

PROJECT UPDATE

UK’s Altilium begins work on EV battery recycling

and refining plant

Altilium, a UK-based clean techno-
logy company, has begun construction
on the country’s first at-scale electric
vehicle (EV) battery recycling facility
with integrated chemical refining capa-
bilities, located in Plymouth, Devon.

The facility – named ‘ACT 3’ – will
have capacity to recover critical battery
minerals, including lithium, nickel and
graphite, from 24,000 EVs per year.
Using Altilium’s proprietary EcoCathode
process, battery scrap will be recycled
into Nickel Mixed Hydroxide Precipi-
tate (MHP) and lithium sulphate –
critical intermediate materials for Altilium said the engineering design materials in Britain. We are proud to
domestic production of battery cathodes. work being on the ‘ACT 3’ unit coming be building this scale-up facility here in
up on the 4-acre site, will be completed Plymouth, which will be a cornerstone
The ‘ACT 1’ unit was the company’s by Hatch, an engineering consultancy. of the UK’s EV battery supply chain.”
technology centre in Devon, where the The plant will provide important learn-
EcoCathode process was developed. ings around materials handling, scalabi- While battery recycling in the UK
The ‘ACT 2’ pilot line processed one lity and process optimisation, as well as has to date focused primarily on shred-
EV battery per day, validating the pro- sustainability and environmental compli- ding batteries and black mass produc-
cess and materials with automotive ance, as part of a clear scale-up pathway tion, Altilium is pioneering the next
OEMs. The process will be scaled up for construction of the planned ‘ACT 4’ step: keeping valuable battery metals
in the ‘ACT 3’ unit, producing inter- mega-scale refinery later this decade. like lithium and nickel in the UK
mediate battery materials. Altilium has through advanced hydrometallurgical
plans to set up mega-scale refinery, ‘ACT Dr. Christian Marston, Altilium refining. This ensures local job creation
4’ for delivering battery metal salts, COO, commented, “Our ACT 3 site and a resilient supply of battery-grade
P-CAM and CAM (cathode active marks the next phase in Altilium’s materials for the UK’s growing EV and
material) to UK gigafactories. mission to close the loop on battery gigafactory sectors, it added.
Nippon Shokubai selects site for locating lithium

battery electrolyte facility

Japanese chemicals firm, Nippon life, shorter charging times, and higher strategy of local production for local con-
Shokubai, has concluded a location output in low-temperature environ- sumption, we have decided to establish a
agreement with Kitakyushu City in ments. Demand for this material is new plant in Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka
Japan to establish a new plant for LiFSI expected to grow with rapid electrifica- Prefecture to fulfil our responsibility for
(Lithium bis (fluorosulphonyl) imide, tion of automobiles. the stable supply of Ionel,” the company
trade name: Ionel). said in a press note. Construction of the
“With the aim of strengthening the 3,000-tpa facility, involving an invest-
Ionel, an electrolyte for lithium-ion supply chain for batteries in Japan, the pro- ment of around 37.5-bn yen ($270,000),
batteries, contributes to performance duction base for battery-related materials is scheduled to begin from January 2026
improvements such as longer battery is being developed. Based on our business and likely to be completed by July 2028.

Chemical Weekly May 6, 2025 167

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