EV supply chains shifting to resilience
A UK startup, Altilium, raised funding to build Britain’s first commercial EV battery refinery as countries seek local processing and recycling to reduce concentrated supply-chain risk. The coverage notes that Indonesia is the dominant supplier of key nickel materials while much processing remains in China, underlining why downstream refining and recycling are becoming strategic priorities. The Altilium piece was reported on The Next Web and highlights a push for localisation of battery value chains. (thenextweb.com)
Altilium has secured £18.5 million in UK government funding to build Britain’s first commercial refinery for recovering battery minerals from used electric vehicle packs. (altilium.tech) The company said the money comes through the DRIVE35 Scale-Up Fund, delivered by the Department for Business and Trade with the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK and Innovate UK. Altilium plans to build the ACT3 plant in Plymouth, Devon. (altilium.tech) ACT3 is designed to process 24,000 electric vehicle batteries a year and produce nickel mixed hydroxide precipitate, lithium sulphate, and graphite for new batteries. Altilium said construction is due to start in summer 2026, with commissioning planned for the end of 2027. (altilium.tech) Battery recycling turns old cells into feedstock for new ones, cutting the need to import newly mined material. The International Energy Agency said in its 2025 outlook that recent policy and industry moves have focused on diversification, refining, and recycling as governments respond to supply bottlenecks and geopolitical risk. (iea.org) The concentration problem sits downstream, where mined material is turned into battery chemicals. The International Energy Agency said in its 2024 outlook that China dominates battery-mineral processing, cathode and anode material production, battery-cell manufacturing, and electric vehicle production. (iea.org) Nickel is one of the metals at the center of that shift because it is used in many high-energy battery chemistries. Indonesia has become a major force in nickel processing and exports, including mixed hydroxide precipitate, the intermediate product Altilium plans to make in Plymouth. (iea.org, mysteel.net) Altilium said ACT3 would produce about 5,200 tonnes a year of nickel mixed hydroxide precipitate, 8,000 tonnes a year of lithium sulphate, and 5,400 tonnes a year of graphite. The company said the site would create 70 jobs in Plymouth, where it already runs a hydrometallurgical pilot plant for battery recycling. (altilium.tech) The Plymouth plant is also a step toward a larger Teesside project. Altilium said its planned ACT4 facility would be able to process 150,000 electric vehicle batteries a year and produce 30,000 tonnes a year of cathode active material for UK battery makers. (altilium.tech) The company said the new grant is expected to unlock more private money on top of more than £17 million already raised from investors including SQM, Marubeni Corporation, and Mizuho Bank. For Britain, the immediate test is whether ACT3 moves from grant-backed plan to an operating refinery by the end of 2027. (altilium.tech)
