Champions of Britain’s lithium industry want the country to mine its own reserves of the vital metal, refine it, and also produce the batteries that electric cars need.
It is hoped the UK will supply eight percent of Europe’s refined lithium. The battery industry and supply chain is expected to deliver 100,000 jobs by 2040.
The push to make a Britain a “powerhouse in refined lithium” comes as the UK prepares for the end of the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030.
Tees Valley Lithium plans to build a lithium hydroxide refinery at Teesside Freeport’s Wilton Inter-national Chemical Park. The plant is expected to be the largest in Europe, creating 1,000 jobs.
Alkemy Capital Investments plc (LON:ALK, FRA: JV2) is focussed on developing projects in the energy transition metals sector. Alkemy’s wholly-owned subsidiary Tees Valley Lithium (TVL) is developing a state of the art lithium hydroxide plant at Teesside, UK. TVL is Europe’s largest independent and sustainable lithium hydroxide producer.