Altilium has created EV battery cells using 95% recycled materials that perform just as well as those made with newly mined metals, Interesting Engineering reported.
The Plymouth, United Kingdom-based company successfully produced electric vehicle battery cells at an industrial scale using recycled cathode material made from three key metals. Testing at the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre showed the recycled cells matched conventional batteries across all key performance metrics.
Traditional EV battery production relies heavily on freshly mined lithium, nickel, and cobalt, which require environmentally damaging extraction processes. Altilium's technology addresses this by recovering over 95% of these critical metals from old batteries through its proprietary EcoCathode process.
The recycled material worked seamlessly with standard manufacturing processes. The cells moved through every production step, from mixing materials to coating electrodes to final assembly, without any issues or modifications.
The recycled cells showed less than 1% performance difference compared to traditional batteries. They demonstrated equivalent energy density, impedance, and cycling behavior, all critical long-term performance and safety indicators.
"For the first time, we've demonstrated that battery-grade EV cells can be manufactured at scale using recycled materials — with no compromise on quality," said Christian Marston, Altilium co-founder and COO.
"This groundbreaking project marks the beginning of a journey that could reduce the U.K.'s dependence on imported materials and open up a new market for recycled batteries," Richard LeCain, the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre's chief technology officer, said.
This breakthrough could make EVs more affordable by reducing raw material costs. The technology also reduces battery production's carbon footprint by making the need for environmentally destructive mining operations redundant.
For your health, less mining means cleaner air and water in communities worldwide. Recycling generates far less toxic waste than traditional metal extraction, protecting workers and nearby residents from harmful chemicals.
Major automakers are already testing Altilium's cells to meet upcoming EU requirements. Starting in 2031, all new EV batteries sold in Europe must include minimum levels of recycled lithium, nickel, and cobalt.
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Altilium has launched its ACT 2 recycling facility in Plymouth and is building a larger plant to process materials from 24,000 EVs annually. Its recycled battery cells already comply with the future EU standards, positioning it ahead of regulatory requirements.
The company expects commercial availability as automakers complete their testing and integrate the technology into production vehicles over the next few years.
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