UK-based battery firm Altilium has received government funding to begin rapid prototyping of lithium-ion EV battery pouch cells using recycled cathode active materials (CAM).

The company has received a grant of £639,797 ($798,114) from Innovate UK’s Faraday Battery Challenge, part of a £1.5-million funding round for UK battery developers. It will produce the cells at the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) using CAM produced at its UK pilot facility. The project will involve analysis of the quality and performance of the cells, and benchmarking against UKBIC’s baselines cell.

Altilium’s EcoCathode process recycles over 95% of the metals in a battery cathode, including lithium, from old EV batteries to produce high-nickel CAM for direct reuse in new batteries. The company’s planned Teesside recycling plant will have capacity to produce 30,000 tons of CAM per year—sufficient to meet nearly 20% of expected UK demand by 2030.

“This new project will advance commercialization of Altilium’s technology, demonstrating our EcoCathode recycling process at our new ACT 2 facility at a suitable scale to OEMs, battery manufacturers and investors, and de-risking investment in further scale-up,” said Christian Marston, Alitlium’s Chief Operating Officer (COO).

Source: Altilium