Teesside’s new lithium refinery will be run on industry-leading green standards

THE UK’s first large-scale lithium refinery, currently being built on Teesside, will consciously aim to be as ‘green’ as possible in its development and production processes.

The London-headquartered company Green Lithium officially confirmed in November that it will build a refinery for the battery material at Teesportngiving a boost to the country’s electric car supply chain and another feather in the cap of the region’s growing energy transition credentials.

Green Lithium says it is committed to transforming the refining process – historically a dirty supply chain component – by targeting net zero on Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2035, while working with supply chain partners to minimise Scope 3 emissions, and reducing its carbon footprint to significantly lower than existing international refineries.

The Teesside refining process will have a carbon footprint 80 percent lower than the traditional processes currently used internationally, with a carbon intensity of only 3.3kg of CO2 emitted per kg of lithium hydroxide produced compared with the international average of 16.2kg.

This will be achieved through integrating low-energy processes with renewable electricity, and by ensuring the refining plant is capable of utilising hydrogen gas and is carbon capture enabled.

Additionally, there will be no wider environmental impact due to the refinery’s use of a non-acid leach process flowsheet with zero liquid discharge and no sulphates in its output.

It is Green Lithium’s objective to set the global lithium refining bar higher than anyone else, setting environmental standards not previously seen before within the industry.

The creation of the “substantial facility” will begin to meet the urgent needs of the battery manufacturing and automotive sectors within the UK and the EU, as the global transition to electric vehicles (EVs) drives an increasing necessity for lithium processing capabilities on the continent.

The construction of the refinery will also help drive the UK’s levelling up agenda as well as supporting local and regional development.

Development and construction of the facility will drive significant growth and investment into the local area, creating more than 1,000 jobs during the construction phase and 250 full-time, green, local and highly-skilled jobs once in operation.

Construction is expected to take three years and the plant will be commissioned during 2025.

The refinery will provide annual production of around 50,000 tonnes of low-carbon, battery-grade lithium chemicals that will help meet Europe’s growing demand. Green Lithium’s product will go into the supply chain for lithium-ion batteries, energy storage, grid stabilisation and EV batteries. For example, the forecast level of annual production will enable the production of roughly 1 million EVs in a European market producing over 15 million by 2030.

Currently, 89 per cent of the globe’s hard-rock lithium is processed in East Asia, with domestic demand expected to outstrip its production output by 2030. As such, the UK and EU’s reliance on international sources for their refined lithium chemical imports is creating uncertainty over security of supply, price, and volume.

These factors underline the reasons why the UK government made lithium a key part of its Critical Minerals Strategy in 2022. By 2030, the overall European market alone will require 800,000 tonnes of refined lithium per year, as the annual gigafactory output of Europe’s top five lithium battery makers is set to grow by more than 28 percent.

Green Lithium is seizing the opportunity presented by Europe’s future high demand, and potential future uncertainty in the Chinese market, by building a refinery that will enable the growth of localised battery and electric vehicle industries in the UK and the EU.

Sean Sargent, chief executive officer of Green Lithium, said: “Green Lithium’s vision is to support the acceleration of adoption of EVs and sustainable energy storage by increasing the supply of low carbon lithium chemicals, enabling the planet’s transition to sustainable energy.

“There is currently no lithium refining capability in Europe; localised lithium refining is urgently required to meet the exponential growth of European demand and protect against uncertainty from precarious international supply chains. Without localised supply, Europe’s battery, energy storage and automotive sectors will fail.

“Critically, Green Lithium will use a world-leading, sustainable, and low-carbon refining process, which has an 80 percent lower carbon footprint than traditional refineries in existing markets.”

Claire Blanchelande, Head of Lithium at Trafigura, said: “Lithium is fast becoming one of the world’s most important commodities for the energy transition and Green Lithium’s refinery will be one of the few ready by the middle of this decade when we see demand for electric vehicles picking up in a very significant way in the UK and Europe.”

Grant Shapps MP, secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, said: “We’re backing companies like Green Lithium to grow the new, green industries across the UK, sparking jobs and growth for decades to come.

“The refinery will deliver more than 1,000 jobs during its construction and 250 long-term, high-skill jobs for local people when in operation.

“It is also allowing us to move quickly to secure our supply chains of critical minerals, as we know that geopolitical threats and global events beyond our control can severely impact the supply of key components that could delay the rollout of electric vehicles in the UK.”