Battery recycling pioneer Altilium has marked a major milestone in clean energy technology, recycling over 97% of the lithium and 99% of the graphite from Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries at its UK plants. This innovation responds to an increasingly pressing challenge within the electric vehicle sector as LFP batteries increasingly become widespread.
The company’s patented EcoCathode technology has been incredibly effective at extracting valuable content for recycling into new battery manufacturing. This technology is at a tipping point as UK demand for LFP batteries is set to rise from 18% of the EV market in 2027 to 25% by 2035, Advanced Propulsion Centre data predicts.
“The take-up of LFP batteries is a challenge and an opportunity for recyclers. At Altilium, we are developing solutions to ensure these batteries are recovered, and propel the UK circular battery economy,” said Altilium COO Dr Christian Marston.
Marston highlighted the commercial and environmental advantages of their strategy: “Our ground-breaking EcoCathode technology enables us to recover lithium and graphite efficiently, making LFP recycling commercially viable and environmentally imperative. By developing our capability to recycle LFP alongside NMC (Nickel Manganese Cobalt) batteries, we are enhancing the UK battery supply chain and enabling the transition to a cleaner, greener transport industry.”
The LFP Recycling Challenge
Industry observers have pinpointed LFP batteries as particularly challenging for recyclers. In contrast to NMC batteries with their very valuable nickel and cobalt content, LFP batteries are made up of iron and phosphate—materials of far lower market value. This economic fact has made LFP batteries less likely to be recycled in the past, potentially creating an environmental issue as more vehicles adopt this chemistry.
Altilium’s innovation addresses this challenge by optimizing the recovery of high-value lithium with recoverable graphite that can be directed to anode production. This enables the conversion of what was once an unwieldy waste stream into a valuable product for UK domestic battery production.
UK Recycling Capacity to Increase
The company has two Devon plants, ACT1 and ACT2, where it recycles NMC batteries from two major UK automobile manufacturers and gigafactory scrap. The operations produce high-nickel cathode active materials (CAM) in order for new battery production.
Altilium’s recently opened Plymouth ACT2 plant gives a glimpse of the scale of the company’s ambitions. The plant recycles about 300kg of black mass waste per day—about a full EV battery. Black mass is an industry term for the powdery residue left behind from batteries that are shredded and processed to produce plastics and metal.
Even more dramatic is the company’s planned Teesside hub, one of Europe’s largest EV battery recycling plants. The plant was designed with flexibility to handle various battery chemistries, such as the now more common LFP type. When it comes on stream, it will recycle scrap from more than 150,000 electric vehicles annually.
Closing the Battery Material Loop
What is special to Altilium’s EcoCathode process is its ability to convert end-of-life batteries and manufacturing scrap into materials to be directly incorporated into new battery production. Three primary outputs are produced by the business: battery precursors, cathode active materials (CAM), and cathode precursor (pCAM).
This closed-loop approach is increasingly important as automobile companies have more stringent regulatory targets for recycled content and overall sustainability. By developing a domestic source of recycled battery material, Altilium is lessening the UK’s dependence on foreign-sourced raw materials and lessening the carbon footprint of battery production.
Industry insiders report that as the adoption of electric vehicles accelerates, the production of sustainable end-of-life solutions for batteries will be as important as the initial manufacturing process. Altilium’s recycling technology for LFP is a fundamental step toward a truly
