- SQM invested $2.57M in Altilium's Series A funding round.
- Altilium will scale up its UK Battery Recycling Technology Centre and retrofit its Eastern Europe plant by 2024.
- The investment supports recycling lithium, nickel, and cobalt from EV batteries.
- Altilium has secured over $6.5M from UK government innovation awards.
Investment Details
SQM Lithium Ventures has invested $2.57 million in Altilium, a UK-based clean technology group, as part of Altilium’s Series A funding round. This investment aims to accelerate the commercialization of Altilium’s proprietary battery recycling technology.
Technology and Operations
Altilium focuses on producing low-carbon, sustainable battery materials by recycling lithium-ion batteries. The company operates the only UK facility producing battery-ready cathode active materials (CAM) from spent EV batteries at its Battery Recycling Technology Centre in Devon. The investment will support the scale-up of this demonstration line and the retrofit of its SX-EW hydrometallurgical plant in Eastern Europe to recycle battery waste from over 24,000 electric vehicles by 2024.
Strategic Importance
With the growing global demand for lithium driven by the transition to clean energy technologies, recycling is set to play a critical role in developing a sustainable circular supply chain for battery materials. This investment allows SQM to contribute to the creation of a new industry focused on the recuperation of critical metals like lithium, nickel, and cobalt from recycled batteries.
Funding and Collaboration
To date, Altilium has secured over $6.5 million in backing from UK government innovation awards, including grants from the Faraday Institutions Battery Challenge and the Automotive Transformation Fund. The company is also collaborating with leading academic partners, including Imperial College London, to develop green processing technologies for recovering lithium and other battery metals from end-of-life batteries.
