Is Britain becoming An EV Battery Powerhouse?

The importance of EV batteries is growing as the motoring sector gradually transitions away from petrol and diesel, but the UK has managed to build one of the most resilient and sophisticated supply chain networks anywhere in the world, a new report has revealed.

According to the report, produced by independent transport sector analysts New Automotive, the UK has quietly put itself in a very strong position despite having limited domestic mineral resources.

Among the features of this development are:

Over £7 billion invested
At least 14 commercial EV battery projects now in operation
The British EV battery economy already turns over £4.2 billion a year
It employs over 10,000 high-quality jobs

These investments include the contract processing of chemicals, as well as lithium extraction, gigafactories, advanced materials science and work on battery recycling.

Such a range of developments may make the sector more broadly resilient than it may appear at first.

Where Are Britain’s Domestic Lithium Sources?

To date, Britain has imported all its lithium. Only now is the start of a UK lithium extraction industry imminent.

This can be seen in projects such as the brine extraction and hard rock mining projects run by Cornish Lithium and the brine extraction by Weardale Lithium at Eastgate in County Durham.

Between them, they could soon produce thousands of tonnes of lithium a year, going a long way towards meeting the UK’s needs.

The recycling of batteries may also prove a key factor in developing resilience and confidence in the sector, for several reasons:

If lithium can be re-used more readily, this will make the supply of the mineral less scarce
It will also enable other lithium batteries, such as those used in phones, laptops and vaping devices, to be recycled
The active recycling of lithium batteries will mean fewer going into landfill or other waste, where a lack of oversight increases the risk of fires from these highly flammable items

Even with new production in Cornwall and Durham, lithium supplies may be limited. But the wider infrastructure may give the UK a significant edge over other countries.