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The project, involving Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and UK critical metals supplier Altilium, will produce and validate EV battery cells using materials recovered from EV batteries that have reached end-of-life.
Described by Altilium as “a first for the UK”, the project will demonstrate battery cells produced with cathode active materials (CAM) – including lithium, cobalt and nickel – recovered using the company’s EcoCathode process.
Production of the battery cells will take place at the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC), the national battery manufacturing scale-up facility, using recovered battery materials produced at Altilium plants in Devon. JLR will validate the pouch cells at its battery testing facilities.
An IMechE report published last week, Engineering policy priorities for the 2024-2029 UK parliament, called on the government to take a “circular economy approach” to battery electric vehicles (BEVs). “It will be crucial to establish clear sustainability principles for battery recycling, incentivise research in battery innovation, and ensure a secure supply chain for raw materials,” the report said.
A supportive regulatory environment could make the UK a leader in the field, it added, helping the industry reduce its environmental footprint and making the country less reliant on “an increasingly challenging international market for critical materials”.
The new project “brings us one step closer to a circular economy for battery materials in the UK,” claimed Altilium chief operating officer Dr Christian Marston. “By demonstrating that EV battery cells made from recovered materials can meet the rigorous standards of the automotive industry, we’re not only reducing the environmental impact of battery production but also supporting the UK’s efforts to build a more sustainable and resilient EV supply chain.”
The project is supported by the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK. It builds on Altilium’s previously announced partnership with UKBIC, supported by Innovate UK’s Faraday Battery Challenge, to begin rapid prototyping of EV battery cells using recycled CAM.
According to new research by the Faraday Institution, demand for UK EV battery manufacturing capacity will reach nearly 110GWh per annum in 2030. The country will need to secure substantial amounts of raw materials to meet this demand.
Altilium’s planned Teesside hub will reportedly be the UK’s largest integrated battery recycling facility, capable of processing 150,000 EV batteries each year.
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