What Does The UK Need To Have Alongside Lithium For EVs?

Britain’s first commercial lithium plant is up and running, but this is not the only mineral the growing EV sector will need.

As the world shifts towards electric vehicles and some fret about China’s dominance of the critical minerals sector, Britain is now producing one of the most important of those minerals for the first time.

Until now, all of the UK’s lithium has been imported. But production has now begun at the Geothermal Engineering Limited plant near Redruth in Cornwall, which is using geothermal brines to provide heat to local homes while extracting lithium from the water.

What Other UK Lithium Extraction Projects Are Coming Soon?

This will be the first of several sites in the county to produce lithium this way, with Cornish Lithium set to do likewise at a site at nearby Burncoose, after gaining planning permission for a new plant.

The company also has a hard rock extraction project at Trelavour near St Austell, where it plans to repurpose a china clay pit. Elsewhere, extraction will soon start at Weardale Lithium’s site at Eastgate in County Durham.

Important though this is, it remains the case that many established mineral sources in the UK are also very important for the future of the automotive industry.

Potassium titanate is one such material, as it is used by the automotive manufacturing sector in plastics and metal composites, which are highly resistant to heat and wear.

This is not exclusive to any one type of vehicle, of course. Potassium titanate has long been used in petrol and diesel cars, just as it is in electric vehicles and will be for a long time to come.

Much of this comes in the form of potash, but it is also important for the raw material to be refined to produce the titanates that are needed by the motor industry and others.

Lithium may be the new kid on the UK mining block, but potassium titanate and other materials will still have a huge role to play in a changing motor industry.