Nissan has partnered with Altilium, a UK-based clean technology group, to improve the sustainability of EV batteries manufactured in the UK by utilizing advanced recycling technologies to lower the carbon footprint of new batteries and reduce reliance on imported raw materials.
Research and development for the more than $38 million project will take place at the Nissan Technical Centre Europe (NTCE) in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, and focus on the development and advancement of EV battery reuse, recycling, and energy-balancing technology.
“The collaboration with Nissan marks a significant milestone in our mission to create a sustainable ecosystem for EV batteries,” said Dr. Christian Marston, Co-Founder and COO of Altilium. “Together, we are leveraging our strengths and resources to revolutionize how we manage and repurpose EV batteries, ensuring the UK has a domestic and sustainable source of battery materials for low-carbon transportation.”
For this project, the companies will build on Altilium’s proprietary EcoCathode hydrometallurgical process to maximize the potential for raw materials recycling and develop a “closed-loop” model for battery materials.
This will include processing spent Nissan Leaf batteries and production scrap to produce high nickel chemistry cathode active materials (CAM) for testing the next generation of EV batteries.
Altilium’s EcoCathode process can recover more than 95% of cathode metals – including lithium – from end-of-live EV batteries. These metals are then recycled, re-engineered, and upcycled into high-nickel CAM, ensuring their seamless integration into new batteries.
Through this upcycling process, the partners aim to reduce the CAM carbon footprint by 50% and the cost by 20% compared to virgin mined materials.
