SQM Lithium Ventures increases investment in Altilium
A new investment of 9.43 million USD made by SQM Lithium Ventures in British battery recycling and materials firm Altilium Metals has completed Altilium’s Series A financing round to accelerate the scale-up of its UK and European activities. This should pave the way for the roll-out of Altilium’s “full battery circularity customer offering,” according to statements from the two companies.
SQM Lithium Ventures made an initial investment of USD 2.57 million in Altilium last year. Since then, the company says it has hit a number of key development milestones, which include the expansion of its UK recycling facilities, enhancement of its proprietary EcoCathode hydrometallurgical process and strengthening of its senior management team.
Atltilium says the raised capital will be instrumental in building its first battery recycling station to create black mass for feedstock for Altilium’s chemical refineries. With the fresh capital, Altilium should be able to move forward with the retrofit of an existing plant at an undisclosed location in Eastern Europe, ready to process black mass into intermediates for electric vehicle batteries beginning later this year.
Altilium says the fresh capital will also enable it to finalise the plans for what it says will be the UK’s largest electric vehicle battery recycling facility in Teesside in the northeast of England. The company says its facility should be able to meet 20 per cent of the UK’s Cathode Active Materials (CAM) requirement.
David Rousselle, Engineering Manager at SQM and member of Altilium’s board of directors, said, “The investment in Altilium allows SQM to get ahead of the global recycling curve.” The Engineering Manager maintains that currently, less than 1 per cent of lithium-ion batteries are recycled in the US and EU. “Given the growth in the electromobility market, lithium-ion battery recycling will be essential in the coming years,” he pointed out.
Last month, Altilium entered into two battery recycling partnerships. This includes a partnership with UK vehicle salvage, dismantling and recycling specialists Synetiq to launch the end-of-life programme in the UK, as well as a partnership with Vmoto, with whom Altilium and Vmoto agreed to develop a commercial solution for the collection and recycling of lithium-ion batteries from electric scooters and motorbikes across the UK and Europe. These partnerships are meant to encompass “zero-carbon battery collection, black mass recycling and chemical refining direct to battery-ready cathode active material.”
Altilium secured a £700,000 loan from the UK government in November just passed, and announced another recycling cooperation with ABB in October 2023.
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