Securing Domestic Lithium Supply Chain for UK

"The transition to electric vehicles (EVs), and consequent changes to the supply chain, manifests some significant challenges given that manufacturing of cars, trucks and other vehicles is a vital part of the UK 's industrial base. If the country is to maintain its current market share of car production of over 1.5 million units p.a., it is estimated that this will require at least 75,000 tpa of LCE (Lithium Carbonate Equivalent): roughly a third of current global annual supply. Whilst global supply of LCE is expected to rise rapidly much of this additional supply has already been secured by China for its burgeoning battery manufacturing industry and it is therefore increasingly important that the UK investigates possible domestic production of raw materials required for battery manufacture. This project will utilise existing expertise within the consortium to assess the feasibility of extracting and converting a supply of lithium from indigenous sources in order to provide a secure supply of a vital battery material, enabling the UK to become a world-leader in batteries for EVs.

Developing such a supply chain is of paramount importance given competition from Asia. Potential sources of lithium and other battery raw materials have been identified in the UK and Europe, and offer potential for the UK to secure a domestic supply of a significant proportion of the lithium a thriving EV industry requires. A fully-integrated domestic supply chain will offset the risks of the UK vehicle industry being destroyed by competition from Asia. This project will leverage existing knowledge to create innovative solutions for the current raw materials gap that exists in the supply chain.

The project consortium will assess various processing methods for lithium sources, and the feasibility of locating such a plant within the UK. The project will build on recent work by consortium members during the European-funded FAME project and will assess the viability of taking feedstock from Cornwall, and potentially Europe, and producing a central concentrate for conversion to battery grade lithium chemicals.

The FAME project, which focussed on the processing of European lithium ores, was led by Wardell Armstrong International with feedstock characterisation by the Natural History Museum, two of the consortium members for this feasibility study. The third member, Cornish Lithium, is the only company actively exploring the potential for lithium production from novel sources in Cornwall. They bring a highly experienced commercial team with extensive industry and investment banking experience."