Battery recycler Green Lithium said it will build the UK’s first large-scale lithium refinery at PD Ports, in Teesside, England.
Construction is expected to take three years and the plant will be commissioned during 2025. Annual production of around 50,000 tonnes is planned, which the company said is enough to meet 6% of the EU’s and UK’s 2030 battery requirement.
The company said it would look to lower greenhouse gas emissions by 80% compared to existing refineries. Carbon intensity will be 3.3kg of CO2 per kilo of lithium hydroxide produced, it said.
It will integrate low-energy processes with renewable electricity, and ensure the refining plant can utilise hydrogen gas and carbon capture. The refinery will use a non-acid leach process flowsheet with zero-liquid discharge and no sulphates in its output.
Green Lithium received a £600,000 grant from the Advanced Propulsion Centre’s Automotive Transformation Fund in 2021.
Sean Sargent, Chief Executive Officer of Green Lithium, said: “There is currently no lithium refining capability in Europe; localised lithium refining is urgently required to meet the exponential growth of European demand and protect against uncertainty from precarious international supply chains. Without localised supply, Europe’s battery, energy storage and automotive sectors will fail.
Commodities trader Trafigura will help Green Lithium source its raw materials and market its output of lithium hydroxide.
UK Business Secretary Grant Shapps went to Teesside today to announce the news. The government made lithium a key part of its Critical Minerals Strategy in 2022.
