A venture to construct the UK’s first large-scale business lithium refinery has acquired £1.6 million in seed spherical funding, closing at greater than 5 instances the preliminary goal quantity requested by Inexperienced Lithium, the corporate behind the initiative.
The money injection provides as much as the £600,000 the agency had already acquired from the U.Ok. authorities’s Automotive Transformation Fund again in April.
In line with Inexperienced Lithium, the seed spherical capital will probably be used to fund uncooked materials laboratory test-work analyses, that are already underway; planning and environmental scoping and baseline surveys; floor investigation; and different actions regarding the early growth part of the venture.
In a media statement, the London-based firm mentioned its objective is to construct and function a 50,000 tonne-per-year refinery that can produce sufficient lithium hydroxide to allow the manufacturing of greater than 1 million electrical autos per yr.
Inexperienced Lithium additionally mentioned that its plan is to make use of an industry-leading, sustainable and low-carbon refining course of that provides an alternative choice to the normal route of sulphuric acid roasting and leaching by way of the caustic course of. The event is anticipated to attach the U.Ok.’s and Europe’s lithium battery and cell producers with ample worldwide sources of uncooked lithium materials.
“The electrical automobile revolution, which will probably be essential within the transition to ‘net-zero,’ requires a major enhance and diversification within the provide of low-carbon, battery-grade lithium hydroxide,” Richard Taylor, founding director at Inexperienced Lithium, mentioned in a press temporary. “It’s estimated that development of greater than 400% in provide is required over the subsequent 10 years, nevertheless present and deliberate refining capability will fall brief in attaining this. Inexperienced Lithium intends to assist meet what would in any other case be unmet demand in an underserved market. The truth that our seed funding spherical was greater than 5 instances oversubscribed displays the dimensions and attractiveness of the chance.”