Altilium, a UK-based clean technology company specializing in the recovery of critical battery materials, has received its first UK patent covering the core process behind its EcoCathode EV battery recycling technology. The patent represents an important step in the company’s plans to commercialize the process and expand domestic production of recycled battery materials. The UK Intellectual Property Office granted Patent No. GB2637908B, entitled “Material Recovery Method and Use.” The patent protects Altilium’s hydrometallurgical process for recovering, purifying and regenerating high-value cathode materials from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries. The process converts black mass, the material remaining after batteries are discharged and mechanically processed, into high-purity, battery-grade materials suitable for manufacturing new EV batteries.

Unlike recycling methods that produce intermediate materials requiring additional refining overseas, the EcoCathode process is designed to recover and regenerate battery-grade cathode materials within a closed-loop system. Altilium said the approach reduces energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions while allowing lithium, nickel, cobalt and other critical materials to be returned directly to the UK battery supply chain. The UK patent provides the foundation for a broader international intellectual property portfolio, with corresponding applications progressing in other major jurisdictions. Altilium plans to use the portfolio to protect its technology as it expands its UK operations and pursues international licensing, strategic partnerships and other commercial opportunities.

NMC 111 black mass, NMC 622 precursor cathode active material and NMC 622 cathode active material at the Altilium ACT2 facility, as featured by EV + Battery Tech Monthly.

Altilium’s EcoCathode technology converts processed battery waste into materials for new EV batteries. Shown at the company’s ACT2 facility are NMC 111 black mass, NMC 622 precursor cathode active material and regenerated NMC 622 cathode active material. 

The Altilium process has already been demonstrated at an industrially representative scale through collaborative research and development projects involving automotive manufacturers and support from the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK. Imperial College London has also evaluated cathode active materials produced through the process. Published research found that Altilium’s recycled materials achieved battery-grade purity and composition, crystal structure and electrochemical performance comparable to commercially available cathode materials produced from newly mined resources.

“This patent represents a significant milestone for Altilium and validates years of research and development into creating a truly circular supply chain for battery materials. Intellectual property is fundamental to our strategy as we scale our technology from pilot operations to commercial production.

“Our process enables critical battery metals to be recovered and regenerated into battery-grade materials with dramatically lower carbon emissions than traditional mining and refining. This is exactly the type of innovation needed to build a resilient and sustainable battery supply chain for the UK,” said Dr. Christian Marston, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Altilium.

The patent forms part of Altilium’s growing portfolio of technologies for recovering and regenerating cathode active materials, cathode precursors, anode active materials and other critical battery materials. These processes are expected to support the company’s ACT3 commercial recycling facility in Plymouth and its planned large-scale ACT4 facility in Teesside.

The ACT3 facility is being developed to process battery material from the equivalent of approximately 24,000 EVs annually. It will produce battery intermediates including nickel mixed hydroxide precipitate, lithium sulphate and recovered graphite. The planned ACT4 facility is expected to process material from approximately 150,000 EVs annually and produce as much as 30,000 metric tons of cathode active material per year. Altilium estimates that this output could meet approximately 20 percent of the UK’s anticipated cathode active material requirements by 2030.

Altilium expects demand for recycled battery materials to increase as EV adoption expands, manufacturers seek more resilient regional supply chains and European recycled-content requirements begin applying to new batteries. By recovering critical minerals from end-of-life batteries and returning them to cell production, the company aims to reduce dependence on imported virgin materials while retaining more battery material processing within the UK.

About Altilium

Altilium is a UK-based clean technology company developing domestic sources of cathode and anode materials recovered from end-of-life batteries and manufacturing waste. Its proprietary EcoCathode and EcoAnode processes convert battery waste into battery precursors, cathode active materials, precursor cathode active materials and anode active materials for reuse in new batteries. The company is backed by SQM Lithium Ventures, Marubeni Corporation and Mizuho Bank. For additional information, please click here. 

Source/Photo Credit: Altilium

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Molly Bakewell Chamberlin
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