The Chief Operating Officer of the UK’s Green Lithium refiner has called on his country’s government to introduce tax credits to match the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to boost the UK critical minerals industry.
Cameron Tonkin told BEST: “We can’t afford another Britishvolt saga.” His company is working on plans to build one of Europe’s first large-scale lithium refining and battery recycling plants in Teesside, north-east England.
Would-be battery maker Britishvolt went bust in January 2023 after failing to raise enough capital from investors or the government.
Green Lithium’s neighbour, Tees Valley Lithium (TVL) is aiming to become a lithium chemical processing hub, importing high value feedstock from around the world and supplying battery grade lithium hydroxide to Europe. Its parent company Alkemy is building two linked refineries, in Australia and the UK.
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.