British mineral processing company Green Lithium has announced its plans to build the UK’s first large-scale, centralised commercial lithium refinery at PD Ports in Teesside.
The new merchant lithium refinery will provide battery-grade materials for use in the electric vehicle, renewable energy, and consumer technology supply chains.
It will be designed to produce around 50,000 tonnes of low-carbon, battery-grade lithium chemicals annually.
The produced chemicals will be supplied for the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries, energy storage, grid stabilisation and EV batteries.
In addition, the new refinery is expected to create more than 1,000 new jobs during construction and 250 long-term high-skill jobs for local people once it begins operations.
Green Lithium chief executive officer Sean Sargent said: “Green Lithium’s vision is to support the acceleration of adoption of EVs and sustainable energy storage by increasing the supply of low carbon lithium chemicals, enabling the planet’s transition to sustainable energy.
“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.
“Critically, Green Lithium will use a world-leading, sustainable, and low-carbon refining process, which has an 80% lower carbon footprint than traditional refineries in existing markets.”
The annual production level of the refinery is estimated to enable the production of around one million EVs in the European market, producing more than 15 million by 2030.
Lithium is a key component of batteries and plays an important role in the automotive and energy industries.
According to Green Lithium, 89% of the global hard-rock lithium is currently being processed in East Asia and Europe has no lithium refineries.
The company said that its new refinery will support the UK’s ‘Levelling Up’ strategy, along with the government’s local and regional development.
The UK Government has offered financial support to the company, through a grant of around £600,000 from the Automotive Transformation Fund.
Business Secretary Grant Shapps said: “We’re backing companies, like Green Lithium here in Teesside, to grow the new, green industries across the UK, sparking jobs and growth for decades to come.
“This is levelling up in action. The refinery will deliver more than 1,000 jobs during its construction and 250 long-term, high-skill jobs for local people when in operation.
“It is also allowing us to move quickly to secure our supply chains of critical minerals, as we know that geopolitical threats and global events beyond our control can severely impact the supply of key components that could delay the rollout of electric vehicles in the UK.”
