Britain advances Europe's first China-independent lithium refinery at Billingham, targeting 500,000 EV batteries a year
By Eve
Tees Valley Lithium, a subsidiary of Alkemy Capital Investments, has published an impact report for a £185 million lithium hydroxide refinery at the Billingham Chemical Complex near Hull. The plant would produce enough battery-grade lithium annually for more than 500,000 electric vehicles and is projected to support close to 1,700 jobs and add £2.1 billion to the UK economy over 25 years. The project addresses Europe's reliance on China, which refines roughly two thirds of global lithium chemicals according to the IEA's latest Global Critical Minerals Outlook.
Why it matters: The refinery would give European battery plants a domestic source of lithium hydroxide, reducing dependence on Chinese midstream processing at a time when gigafactories from Sunderland to Skellefteå are scaling production. For procurement teams and charge point operators, a stable European battery supply chain lowers risk in the EV rollout and could accelerate vehicle availability across fleets.