A Devon company that has developed a way to recycle materials in electric car batteries has secured US$5m (£4m) from Japanese investment group Marubeni Corporation as part of a Series B funding round.
Altilium said the investment would be used to support the next stage of development for its planned Teesside facility, which will transform battery waste from 150,000 electric vehicles into cathode active material – a key component of new batteries.
The funding will be spent on detailed engineering studies, land acquisition, planning and permitting, and recruitment of the leadership team, Altilium said.
Kamran Mahdavi, chief executive of Altilium, said: “We are proud to welcome Marubeni as a strategic partner at this pivotal stage in Altilium’s growth journey. Their investment strengthens our position as leaders in sustainable battery materials and reinforces our commitment to building the UK’s largest EV battery recycling facility.
“Together, we are advancing our mission to create a UK closed-loop supply chain, reduce dependency on imported materials and lowering the environmental footprint of battery production. This partnership marks a major milestone in establishing a truly circular economy for the UK’s battery industry.”
Altilium and Marubeni have been working together since the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2023. Under the framework of the MoU, the two companies have been jointly developing a closed-loop EV battery recycling business in the UK and establishing a supply chain of end-of-life lithium-ion batteries for recycling at Altilium’s facilities.
Marubeni has been involved and grown its presence in the battery material industry since 1985. In recent years, the Japanese group has been actively involved in the battery recycling business following its investment in the US recycling market.
Altilium completed its Series A funding round last year with a US$12m investment from SQM Lithium Ventures, the corporate venture arm of the lithium business of Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (SQM), a producer of battery grade lithium.
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