'Milestone moment' as lithium plant set to open

Cornish Lithium said it was set to launch the first lithium hydroxide demonstration plant in the UK

A demonstration plant for producing lithium is set to open in Cornwall, Cornish Lithium said.

The £15m site has been billed as a "milestone moment" in helping the UK transition into clean power.

The company said the demonstration plant near St Austell was set to start producing lithium hydroxide, key for making batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), from granite extracted from an old China clay pit.

Cornish Lithium said the project would reduce reliance on importing carbon-intensive materials from places such as China.

Chief executive for Cornish Lithium Jeremy Wrathall said Cornwall was home to the largest lithium resource in Europe

A plaque-unveiling ceremony will take place on Friday at the Trelavour Hard Rock project.

The firm said it aimed to produce 10,000 tonnes of sustainable domestic lithium a year by 2027.

Chief executive Jeremy Wrathall said lithium was "critically important" to manufacturing EVs, grid scale electricity storage and rechargeable industrial and consumer electronics.

He said by 2030, it was expected the UK would need about 110,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent but the country currently imports 100% of the lithium it uses.

Mr Wrathall added: “We’re home to the largest lithium resource in Europe with enough beneath our feet in Cornwall to supply over half of what the electric vehicle industry needs.

'Proud mining heritage'

“This is a huge untapped advantage that is currently being wasted, when it could be making our industries more competitive and resilient to global supply chain volatility.”

The £15m demonstration plant has been funded as part of an investment package from what is now the National Wealth Fund, alongside The Energy and Minerals Group and TechMet, along with funding from the UK Government’s automotive transformation fund.

Mr Wrathall added the project would have a positive benefit for an area with a mining heritage that stretched back 4,000 years for tin and copper and 275 years for China clay, and which suffered from social deprivation.

“Cornish people are very proud of their mining heritage. We haven’t had any real opposition to this project, they’re proud and they want to see it happening," he said.

Business and trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “This is great news for Cornish Lithium, and will not only support high-skilled jobs in the South West but give a major boost to our critical minerals supply chains for the long term."