The UK Government has announced the UK’s first large-scale merchant lithium refinery, which will provide the country with battery grade materials for use in future technologies.

The refinery will create more than 1,000 jobs in construction and 250 long-term high-skill jobs for local people once up and running.

Around 89% of the world’s lithium processing currently takes place in East Asia and there are currently no lithium refineries in Europe. Green Lithium aims for this to be the first merchant lithium refinery outside of Asia.

The UK Government has backed Green Lithium with a grant of over £600,000 through the Automotive Transformation Fund as part of the UK’s first lithium refinery.

Lithium is an essential component of batteries, and a secure supply will be critical for our automotive and energy industries. Critical minerals are irreplaceable in products essential to our everyday lives – such as mobile phones, wind turbines and fighter jets.

Critical minerals are at high risk of supply disruption, because of volatile markets and complex supply chains. The world in 2040 is projected to need four times more critical minerals than it does today.

Commenting on the announcement, Business Secretary Grant Shapps said: “We’re backing companies, like Green Lithium here in Teesside, to grow the new, green industries across the UK, sparking jobs and growth for decades to come.

“This is levelling up in action. The refinery will deliver more than 1,000 jobs during its construction and 250 long-term, high-skill jobs for local people when in operation.

“It is also allowing us to move quickly to secure our supply chains of critical minerals, as we know that geopolitical threats and global events beyond our control can severely impact the supply of key components that could delay the rollout of electric vehicles in the UK.”

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The UK government has recently announced a £211 million boost in new government funding for leading manufacturing industries to support battery research and innovation.

Funding is being delivered through the Faraday Battery Challenge, which began in 2017 and supports scientific technology development and manufacturing scale-up capability for batteries in the UK.

The newly announced factory will also go some way towards supporting Scotland’s net zero ambitions.

Scotland’s climate change legislation aims to get the country to net zero emissions of all greenhouse gases by 2045. To reach this goal, the government said that all sectors require a rapid transformation across the country’s economy.

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