Britishvolt, an EV battery cell technology company, has entered into a joint venture with strategic partner Glencore to develop an ecosystem for battery recycling in the UK.
According to the partnership, this ecosystem will be anchored at a new recycling plant located at the Britannia Refined Metals (BRM) operation located in Northfleet, Kent.
The project sees a return to recycling for BRM, while the Glencore company will continue with its current production and trading operations.
Once complete, the plant will be Glencore and Britishvolt’s first battery recycling facility in the UK with an expected processing capacity of a minimum of 10,000 tonnes of lithium-ion batteries per year, including but not limited to battery manufacturing scrap, portable electronics batteries and full EV packs.
The facility will process all Britishvolt’s valuable battery manufacturing scrap from its gigafactory in Blyth.
Read more: UK government backs Britishvolt plans for gigafactory
The facility is expected to be operational by mid- 2023 with the long-term aim of being 100% powered by renewable energy. The partnership will also look to develop other recycling activities such as black mass refining into battery grade raw materials.
The joint venture aims to leverage Glencore’s multi-decade recycling experience across end of life materials such as discarded electronics, copper and alloy scraps and black mass. Both companies believe that battery recycling will form a key part of the energy transition, efficiently recovering the critical metals needed for the energy transition. The goal is to help support the creation of a genuinely circular economy that supplies recycled materials and minerals back into the battery supply chain.
Timon Orlob, global chief operating officer, Britishvolt, said: “This exciting project adds much to our existing relationship with Glencore supplying Britishvolt with responsibly-sourced cobalt. Recycling is key to a successful energy transition and has always been a major part of Britishvolt business model.
“We’ve been looking for the perfect partner to help kick start a UK battery recycling industry and FTSE100-listed Glencore has expert historical experience in recycling. This joint venture will help us both to create a truly sustainable battery value-chain, create jobs and develop new battery recycling technologies. Both Britishvolt and Glencore are fully committed to reducing carbon across the supply chain.”
