The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has announced a forthcoming large-scale merchant lithium refinery to be built in Teesport, Middlesbrough, which could potentially boost the UK’s electric vehicle (EV) industry.
The refinery is intended to support the provision of materials used for batteries in EVs, as well as in the renewable energy and consumer technology industries.
The government has likewise awarded £600,000 in funding to support Green Lithium, the organisation behind the refinery, through the Automotive Transformation Fund.
What’s more, the government hopes to position Britain as a global leader in the production of such materials, with the upcoming facility potentially generating more than 1,000 construction jobs and 250 long-term skilled jobs, according to BEIS.
The move towards lithium comes as a response to 89% of the world’s current lithium processing currently occurring in East Asia, with a lack of such facilities in Europe. Green Lithium hopes the Teesside site will become the first merchant lithium refinery operating outside of Asia.
The production of lithium is essential to the manufacture of batteries, the supply of which is critical to automotive and energy plants. Other forms of critical minerals are also represented in a lot of essential consumer products, such as mobile phones.
Grant Shapps, business secretary, 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.
“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.”
In its announcement, BEIS cited figures that suggest the world will need quadruple the current levels of critical minerals by 2040, and that this market is at especially high risk of disrupted supply chains.
