Britishvolt has announced a joint venture with strategic partner Glencore to develop a world-leading ecosystem for battery recycling in the UK. This ecosystem will be anchored at a new recycling plant located at the Britannia Refined Metals operation, which is run by Glencore.
Glencore is an Anglo-Swiss commodity trader and mining company.
Once complete, the plant will be Glencore and Britishvolt’s first battery recycling facility in the UK with an expected processing capacity of a minimum of 10,000 tonnes of lithium-ion batteries per year, including but not limited to valuable battery manufacturing scrap, portable electronics batteries and full EV packs.
The facility will process all Britishvolt’s valuable battery manufacturing scrap from its Gigafactory in Northumberland.
The facility is expected to be operational by mid- 2023 with the long-term aim of being 100% powered by renewable energy.
The JV will leverage Glencore’s multi-decade recycling experience across end of life materials such as discarded electronics, copper and alloy scraps.
Timon Orlob, Global Chief Operating Officer, Britishvolt, says: “This exciting project adds much to our existing relationship with Glencore supplying Britishvolt with responsibly-sourced cobalt. Recycling is key to a successful energy transition and has always been a major part of Britishvolt business model.”
He adds: “We’ve been looking for the perfect partner to help kick start a UK battery recycling industry and FTSE100-listed Glencore has expert historical experience in recycling. This JV will help us both to create a truly sustainable battery value-chain, create jobs and develop new battery recycling technologies. Both Britishvolt and Glencore are fully committed to reducing carbon across the supply chain.”
David Brocas, Head Cobalt Trader at Glencore, comments: “We are excited to deepen our partnership with Britishvolt. Both companies are united in their ambition to further the energy and mobility transition. Glencore has decades of recycling experience across multiple disciplines (e-waste/copper scrap/battery). This recycling partnership complements our long-term supply agreement for responsible cobalt from our operations in Norway and the Democratic Republic of Congo.”
Britishvolt is on target to responsibly manufacture some of the world’s most sustainable, low carbon, battery cells on the site of the former Blyth Power Station in Northumberland,
The project will have a total capacity of over 30GWh by the end of the decade.
Keyword: Britishvolt and Glencore to Build Battery Recycling Ecosystem in the UK