• The recycling facility will process around 10,000 tonnes of lithium-ion batteries per year.
• Speculations have it that the plant could also employ at least 400 people.

Mining giant Glencore has reportedly entered a joint venture agreement with Britishvolt, an electric vehicle battery startup, to establish a new battery recycling plant in the U.K. The plant will be reusing expensive and key raw materials such as lithium or cobalt and will be developed in Northfleet, east London.

The recycling facility will process around 10,000 tonnes of lithium-ion batteries per year and is set to launch by 2023. However, additional information regarding the investment or how many jobs the plant will produce was not disclosed.

Sources with relevant information stated that the recycling plant could employ at least 400 people. It has also been speculated that battery manufacturing scrap from Britishvolt’s planned plant will also be processed in the Northfleet plant.

David Brocas, Glencore’s Head Cobalt Trader, was quoted saying that the partnership reflects on the mining giant’s long-term supply deal for cobalt from Norway as well as the Democratic Republic of Congo.

For those unaware, Glencore and Britishvolt had entered a long-term supply deal for cobalt last year, while the mining giant is known to own an undisclosed stake in the EV battery startup. Speaking of which, Britishvolt had also managed to gain the U.K. government’s support in private funding of around USD 2.30 billion for its battery facility in Blyth.

Britishvolt’s 45 gigawatt-hour plant is expected to be fully operational by 2027, producing over 450,000 EVs annually.

It is also worth mentioning that there has been a growing pressure to produce sustainable batteries driven by proposed bans on fossil-fuel vehicles and the auto industry’s slow shift to EVs. Recycling batteries will also help in reducing the volume of lithium or cobalt Britain will require to import to produce EVs.

Source Credits –

https://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/auto-components/glencore-britishvolt-team-up-for-uk-ev-battery-recycling-plant/89311218