Tees Valley Lithium, a subsidiary of Alkemy Capital Investments, is developing a battery-material qualification and validation facility at the Billingham Chemical Complex in northeast England, alongside plans for a €210 million lithium hydroxide refinery. The centre is intended to begin customer approval processes before the main refinery reaches commercial production.
The planned facility will use a processing flowsheet designed to replicate the commercial refinery, enabling prospective customers to assess and qualify battery-grade lithium hydroxide ahead of large-scale manufacturing. The approach is intended to address the time required for battery and cathode manufacturers to approve material from a new supplier.
Qualification Facility Targets Earlier Customer Approvals
Battery and cathode manufacturers can require approximately 12 months to qualify material from a new supplier before incorporating it into regular production. Beginning the process before the main refinery is commissioned could reduce the time between mechanical completion and commercial sales. The qualification centre will use technology based on the planned commercial processing flowsheet. It will also have the potential to assess alternative lithium feedstocks, broadening the range of materials that can be evaluated through the facility.
These feedstocks could include lithium recovered through battery recycling and material from Geothermal Engineering Limited’s operations in Cornwall. This could connect domestic British lithium extraction with chemical conversion into battery-grade materials.
Refinery Designed for 25,000 Tonnes of Lithium Hydroxide
The proposed first-stage commercial refinery is designed to produce approximately 25,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium hydroxide annually. According to the company, this output could support battery production equivalent to around 550,000 electric vehicles per year. The qualification facility is intended to demonstrate that material produced using the planned process meets prospective customers’ specifications before the main refinery operates at commercial scale. Early product testing could also provide potential lenders with evidence of product suitability and customer acceptance.
Securing customer approvals in advance could reduce the risk of a prolonged qualification period after the completion of construction and commissioning. stablishing the qualification centre does not in itself demonstrate that the main refinery has secured financing or is ready for construction.
Construction Financing and Feedstock Agreements Remain Key Requirements
The approximately €210 million refinery still requires the necessary construction capital, feedstock arrangements and sufficient long-term customer commitments before it can progress to commercial operation. For the project, the next milestones include commissioning the qualification centre, producing representative lithium hydroxide samples and demonstrating that prospective customers are prepared to enter formal product-approval programmes. Progress on customer qualification alongside financing and construction preparations could allow Tees Valley Lithium to complete part of the approval process before commercial production begins.
