Boost for South West’s drive towards a circular economy with work underway on pioneering EV battery plant
Construction work has started on the UK’s first at-scale electric vehicle battery recycling plant with the potential to create long-term skilled green jobs in the South West.
The cleantech firm behind the operation, Devon-based Altilium, said the ACT 3 scale-up plant will place the UK at the forefront of sustainable battery materials production and underscores its commitment to building a national battery recycling ecosystem, supporting industrial resilience, energy security and economic growth.
The state-of-the art facility in Plymouth will have capacity to recover critical battery minerals, including lithium, nickel and graphite, from 24,000 EVs per year.
Using Altilium’s proprietary EcoCathodeTM process, battery scrap will be recycled into Nickel Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (MHP) and Lithium Sulphate — critical intermediate materials for domestic production of battery cathodes.
Construction work at the four-acre site has already begun, with engineering design work being completed by Hatch, a leading global engineering consultancy.
The plant will provide important learnings around materials handling, scalability and process optimisation as well as sustainability and environmental compliance, as part of a clear scale-up pathway for construction of Altilium’s planned ACT 4 mega-scale refinery later this decade.
Currently the UK is dependent on the international market for supply of critical battery materials, which are essential for decarbonisation and the energy transition.
With growing demand from the battery production sector, the UK is expected to need up to 40% of current global lithium production and up 30% of current global graphite production by 2030, according to research by the UK Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre (CMIC).
By developing a circular economy for EV batteries, Altiliium is ensuring the UK has a secure and sustainable domestic supply chain for these materials, while reducing our reliance on imported resources and cutting carbon emissions.
Dr Christian Marston, Altilium COO, said: “Our ACT 3 site marks the next phase in Altilium’s mission to close the loop on battery materials here in Britain. We are proud to be building this scale-up facility here in Plymouth, which will be a cornerstone of the UK’s EV battery supply chain.
“This is about taking a strategic and incremental approach to scaling a vital new industry, one that ensures value stays in the country and creates long-term skilled green jobs.”
While battery recycling in the UK has to date focused primarily on shredding batteries and black mass production, Altilium is pioneering the next step: keeping valuable battery metals like lithium and nickel in the UK through advanced hydrometallurgical refining. This approach ensures local job creation and a resilient supply of battery- grade materials for the UK’s growing EV and gigafactory sectors.
This latest expansion follows significant inward investment in the company in the first quarter of 2025, including investments from leading global bank Mizuho Bank and Japanese trading and investment group Marubeni Corporation.
