Summary
Watercycle Technologies, which operates Europe's first commercial direct lithium extraction plant in Runcorn, has secured the grant through the Government's DRIVE35 Scale Up Fund. The funding supports the ReLiVE project, a 36-month initiative due to begin in April 2027 to design, build and operate a pilot-to-demonstration facility recovering lithium from industrial wastewater and battery recycling materials.
The project aims to refine recovered lithium into battery-grade salts suitable for electric vehicle production, demonstrating that high-purity lithium can be produced competitively in the UK from circular sources. This addresses a strategic gap: the UK currently has no significant domestic lithium refining capacity and relies heavily on imported lithium chemicals, identified as a critical mineral by Government.
Watercycle will work with UK partners across lithium refining, battery and automotive sectors to ensure the lithium meets industry standards. The project will also assess environmental and economic benefits, including carbon footprint reduction compared with imported lithium and wastewater pollution reduction through resource recovery.
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Common questions
- What is this article about?
- Watercycle Technologies, a University of Manchester spin-out based in Runcorn, has won £3m in Government funding towards a £6m project to build a demonstration-scale lithium extraction facility. The 36-month ReLiVE project will recover battery-grade lithium from industrial waste and recycled materials, targeting domestic production to reduce UK reliance on imported lithium chemicals.
- When was this published?
- This article was published on 10 August 2026.
- Who published this article?
- This article was published by TheBusinessDesk.