Britishvolt and Glencore to build plant capable of recycling lithium-ion batteries
The battery technology startup Britishvolt and its backer, the FTSE 100 metals and mining firm Glencore, have announced plans to build a plant capable of recycling lithium-ion batteries used in cars and electronic devices.
The two firms plan to use 100% renewable energy to recycle batteries at Britannia Refined Metals, owned by Glencore, at a site in Northfleet in Kent that was previously home to the UK’s largest coal-fired power station.
Once up and running, with the opening planned for 2023, the plant will be capable of recycling a minimum of 10,000 tonnes of lithium-ion batteries a year, equivalent to 50,000 electric car batteries.
The plant will be able to process batteries from cars and portable electronic devices, as well as processing scrap from Britishvolt’s planned “gigafactory” in Blyth, Northumberland, transported to Kent by barge to limit carbon emissions.
The government said last month that it would invest £100m in Britishvolt to help jumpstart the car battery manufacturer’s plans to build the facility, which it says will be able to produce 300,000 battery packs for electric cars each year.
Britishvolt said the investment, via the Automotive Transformation Fund, would enable long-term partnership with the fund managers Tritax and abrdn to deliver £1.7bn in private funding for the construction of the shell and core of the gigafactory.
“Recycling is key to a successful energy transition and has always been a major part of Britishvolt business model,” said Timon Orlob, the chief operating officer of Britishvolt.
“We’ve been looking for the perfect partner to help kickstart a UK battery recycling industry and FTSE 100-listed Glencore has expert historical experience in recycling.”
He said the joint venture would help
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