Altilium
EV battery recycling for low-carbon cathode and anode materials
Website: https://altilium.tech/
Cover Block
PUBLIC
The foundational data for Altilium, a UK-based startup focused on establishing a domestic source of battery materials through recycling, is drawn from public filings and company announcements. The table below summarizes the core identifiers.
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Altilium |
| Tagline | EV battery recycling for low-carbon cathode and anode materials [Altilium, Apr 2026] |
| Headquarters | Plymouth, United Kingdom [Crunchbase] |
| Founded | 2020 [Crunchbase] |
| Stage | Series B [Altilium, Jul 2025] |
| Business Model | B2B |
| Industry | Cleantech / Climatetech |
| Technology | Hydrometallurgical recycling |
| Geography | Western Europe |
| Growth Profile | Venture Scale |
| Founding Team | Co-Founders (2) |
| Funding Label | Series B |
| Total Disclosed Funding | $12,000,000 (Series A) [Altilium, Sep 2023] |
Links
PUBLIC
This section provides direct links to the company's primary public-facing digital assets.
- Website: https://altilium.tech
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/altilium
- X / Twitter: https://twitter.com/AltiliumGroup
Data Accuracy: GREEN -- Confirmed by the company's own website and social media profiles.
Executive Summary
PUBLIC Altilium is building a UK-based, end-to-end battery recycling operation to produce low-carbon cathode and anode materials, a bet on sovereign supply chains and circular economics that merits attention as European battery gigafactories seek local feedstock [Altilium, Apr 2026]. Founded in 2020 by Dr. Christian Marston and Kamran Mahdavi, the company has progressed from R&D to operating a pilot plant, securing strategic partnerships and government grants to fund its scale-up [Altilium, Mar 2024] [TheNextWeb]. Its core differentiation is a patented hydrometallurgical process, EcoCathode™, which it claims recovers over 95% of critical minerals including lithium while reusing 99% of its nitric acid solvent, aiming for a zero-waste, low-carbon footprint [Altilium.tech, Unknown]. The founding team, with Marston as COO and Mahdavi as CEO, has steered the company through a disclosed $12 million Series A led by SQM Lithium Ventures and a recent, oversubscribed Series B1 retail raise, though the total capital stack remains partially opaque [Altilium, Sep 2023] [Altilium, Jul 2025]. The business model is B2B, targeting automotive OEMs and battery cell manufacturers with recycled battery-grade materials. Over the next 12-18 months, the critical watchpoint is the commissioning of its planned ACT3 refinery, a facility designed to process 24,000 EV batteries annually, which will test both the technical scalability of its process and its ability to convert pilot partnerships into offtake agreements [Altilium, Oct 2025].
Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Key claims (founding, funding round, partnerships) are confirmed by company announcements; technical and capacity metrics are company-reported without third-party verification.
Taxonomy Snapshot
| Axis | Classification |
|---|---|
| Stage | Series B |
| Business Model | B2B |
| Industry / Vertical | Cleantech / Climatetech |
| Geography | Western Europe |
| Growth Profile | Venture Scale |
| Founding Team | Co-Founders (2) |
Company Overview
PUBLIC
Altilium is a UK-based clean technology group founded in 2020, headquartered in Plymouth, with a stated mission to develop a domestic, circular supply chain for electric vehicle battery materials [Crunchbase]. The company's operational narrative is built around a staged, site-based scaling model it calls ACT (Advanced Circular Technologies). Its first site, ACT1, serves as an R&D and technology development center [Altilium, Apr 2026].
Key operational milestones follow a progression from pilot to commercial demonstration. In March 2024, the company announced a partnership with Nissan and Connected Energy for a UK government-backed project to process spent Nissan Leaf batteries and production scrap [Altilium, Mar 2024]. By December 2024, Altilium reported commencing activities at its ACT2 plant, an 18,000 square foot facility with a stated capacity to process 300kg of black mass, equivalent to one EV battery, per day [Altilium, Dec 2024]. The company also claims to have produced the UK's first EV battery cells made from recycled materials in collaboration with the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) [UKBIC].
Recent corporate developments focus on financing and intellectual property. In July 2025, Altilium announced the completion of an oversubscribed Series B1 retail raise, though the amount was not disclosed [Altilium, Jul 2025]. In February 2026, the company filed a patent for a new process, EcoMineral™, and established a subsidiary named ReOre Technologies aimed at mineral recovery from mine waste [Altilium, Feb 2026].
Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Core company details confirmed by Crunchbase and company website; specific capacity and partnership claims are self-reported.
Product and Technology
MIXED Altilium's commercial proposition rests on a staged, asset-heavy approach to recycling, moving from lab-scale R&D to industrial processing of end-of-life electric vehicle batteries. The company's public narrative centers on three sequential Advanced Circular Technology (ACT) sites, each representing a phase of scale-up and commercial risk reduction [Altilium].
At the core of the process is a patented hydrometallurgical method branded EcoCathode, which uses nitric acid to leach critical minerals from battery black mass. The company claims this method recovers over 95% of lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese, and 99% of graphite, while also enabling 99% recovery and reuse of the nitric acid itself [Altilium]. A key environmental claim is a zero-waste process that eliminates wet tailings and containment dams. The output is cathode active material (CAM) and recovered anode material intended for direct use in new battery cells, a claim supported by a publicized collaboration with the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) to produce the UK's first EV battery cells from recycled materials [UKBIC].
Public capacity metrics are tied to specific ACT sites. The ACT2 demonstration plant, operational as of December 2024, is reported to process 300kg of black mass per day, described as the equivalent of one EV battery [Altilium, Dec 2024]. The planned ACT3 refinery, backed by a £18.5 million government grant, is designed for significantly larger scale, with a stated capacity to process 24,000 EV batteries annually [Altilium, Oct 2025]. Beyond battery recycling, the company has filed a patent for a related EcoMineral process aimed at recovering minerals from mine waste, indicating a technological extension of its core leaching IP [Altilium, Feb 2026].
Data Accuracy: ORANGE -- Core process claims are company-sourced; third-party validation of output quality and commercial-scale performance is limited. The UKBIC cell production provides a technical corroboration point.
Market Research
PUBLIC
The market for recycled battery materials is being pulled into existence by a regulatory and supply chain vise, where mandates for recycled content meet the strategic need to reduce dependence on concentrated, geopolitically sensitive mining.
The total addressable market is anchored to the projected volume of end-of-life EV batteries, which is a function of the historic and current EV fleet. While Altilium does not publish its own market sizing, analogous reports from third-party analysts provide context. BloombergNEF, for instance, forecasts that the global EV battery recycling market could exceed $10 billion annually by 2030, driven by the first major wave of retired batteries from the 2010s [BloombergNEF]. The UK-specific opportunity is more nascent but strategically significant. The UK government's Advanced Propulsion Centre has identified battery recycling as a critical pillar for a sovereign supply chain, with domestic battery production capacity targets creating a direct SAM for recycled cathode and anode materials.
Demand is driven by three converging forces. First, regulatory tailwinds are materializing. The European Union's new Battery Regulation mandates minimum levels of recycled content in new batteries (16% for cobalt, 6% for lithium, 6% for nickel by 2031), creating a non-negotiable compliance market [European Parliament, July 2023]. The UK is expected to follow with similar domestic rules. Second, automotive OEMs are under intense pressure to decarbonize their Scope 3 emissions; using recycled materials can reduce the carbon footprint of battery production by an estimated 50% compared to virgin materials, a figure cited by Altilium in its partnership announcements [Altilium, Feb 2024]. Third, supply chain security is a primary concern. Over 60% of the world's cobalt is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and China refines the majority of the world's lithium, graphite, and rare earth elements [International Energy Agency]. Onshoring material recovery mitigates this concentration risk.
Key adjacent markets include the recycling of production scrap from gigafactories and the processing of mining waste. Altilium's recent patent filing for its EcoMineral™ process, aimed at extracting minerals from mine tailings, indicates a strategic move to address this adjacent stream, potentially broadening its SAM [Altilium, Feb 2026]. A substitute market is direct mineral mining, but its higher carbon footprint, geopolitical risk, and longer project lead times make recycled sources increasingly competitive on cost and ESG metrics over the medium term.
Macro forces are broadly supportive but carry execution risk. Government grants, like the £18.5 million awarded to Altilium for its ACT3 facility, de-risk early capital expenditure but tie progress to public funding timelines [TheNextWeb]. Conversely, any slowdown in EV adoption rates or a significant drop in virgin mineral prices could temporarily undermine the economic case for recycling, though regulatory mandates provide a durable floor.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| EU Recycled Content Mandate (2031) | 16 % Cobalt |
| EU Recycled Content Mandate (2031) | 6 % Lithium |
| EU Recycled Content Mandate (2031) | 6 % Nickel |
| Carbon Reduction vs Virgin Materials | 50 % |
The regulatory targets and cited carbon savings create a quantifiable compliance and cost advantage for recycled materials, though the commercial scale required to meet these mandates is still under construction across the industry.
Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Market sizing is based on analogous third-party analyst reports (BloombergNEF) and widely cited regulatory frameworks. The carbon reduction figure is company-sourced from a partnership announcement.
Competitive Landscape
MIXED Altilium's position hinges on its ability to scale a proprietary, low-carbon recycling process within a UK and European market where incumbents focus on volume and new entrants are racing to prove commercial viability.
| Company | Positioning | Stage / Funding | Notable Differentiator | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altilium | UK-based producer of low-carbon cathode/anode materials from recycled EV batteries. | Series B (2025). $12M Series A (2023). | Patented nitric acid leaching (EcoCathode™); aims for domestic, circular supply chain. | [Altilium, Sep 2023; Altilium, Jul 2025] |
| Ecobat | Global leader in lead-acid battery recycling, expanding into lithium-ion. | Private, established. | Massive global collection network and existing smelting infrastructure for volume processing. | [PUBLIC] |
| Recyclus Group | UK-based battery recycling and technology group. | Public (AIM-listed). | Focus on mechanical processing and logistics; operates a permitted waste facility. | [PUBLIC] |
The competitive map in European battery recycling is stratified by technology and scale. Established players like Ecobat use decades of logistics and smelting expertise, offering high-volume but potentially higher-emission pyrometallurgical recycling [PUBLIC]. This presents a classic trade-off: incumbent scale versus new-process purity. Challengers, including Altilium and Recyclus Group, are pursuing hydrometallurgical routes that promise higher recovery rates and lower carbon outputs, but must build commercial plants from scratch. Adjacent substitutes include direct mineral mining and refining, which set the ultimate cost and carbon benchmarks the recycled materials must beat.
Altilium's defensible edge today is technological and geopolitical. Its patented EcoCathode™ process claims over 95% recovery of critical minerals, including lithium, and 99% reuse of its nitric acid reagent, which the company frames as a zero-waste system [Altilium.tech]. This technical specificity is paired with a sovereign supply chain narrative, actively promoted through UK government-backed projects and partnerships, such as the collaboration with Nissan [Altilium, Mar 2024]. This edge is perishable, however. It depends on maintaining a patent moat while simultaneously executing a capital-intensive scale-up to its planned ACT3 facility, a project that remains in development.
The company's most significant exposure is to competitors that achieve commercial scale faster or with lower capital intensity. Ecobat's existing global collection network represents a channel Altilium does not own and would be costly to replicate. Furthermore, while Altilium's process is designed for high-purity cathode material, it may be less optimized for handling the heterogeneous mix of battery chemistries and formats that enter the waste stream today, a logistical challenge where integrated operators may have an advantage.
The most plausible 18-month scenario will see the field separate based on who secures offtake agreements with major automakers and demonstrates continuous operation at pilot scale. A winner will emerge if a company like Altilium can convert its partnership with Nissan into a firm, multi-year supply contract for its recycled cathode active material, proving both technical specs and economic viability. A loser scenario would see any player in this capital-intensive space fail to secure the project financing needed to build its first commercial-scale refinery, stalling progress while better-funded rivals break ground.
Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Competitor identification is public, but detailed funding and differentiation for Ecobat and Recyclus Group are inferred from general industry knowledge; Altilium's claims are self-reported.
Opportunity
PUBLIC The prize for Altilium is the creation of a sovereign, low-carbon supply chain for critical battery minerals in a region with aggressive EV adoption targets and nascent domestic recycling capacity.
The headline opportunity is to become the UK's foundational, end-to-end battery circularity platform, moving from processing waste to supplying battery-ready cathode and anode materials directly to cell manufacturers. The evidence for this outcome being reachable, not just aspirational, lies in the company's structured, multi-site scaling plan and its early validation with automotive partners. Altilium's ACT sites represent a risk-managed approach to scaling, moving from R&D at ACT1 to a pilot plant at ACT2, with a planned commercial-scale refinery at ACT3 [Altilium]. This progression is designed to de-risk the capital-intensive build-out of recycling infrastructure. The company has already produced the UK's first EV battery cells made from its recycled materials in collaboration with the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC), a government-backed facility [UKBIC]. This technical validation, combined with a partnership to process waste from Nissan's Leaf batteries [Altilium, Mar 2024], provides a tangible pathway from pilot to offtake.
Growth scenarios outline concrete paths to scale beyond the initial UK focus. The table below details two plausible, high-impact trajectories.
| Scenario | What happens | Catalyst | Why it's plausible |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK Sovereign Champion | Altilium becomes the mandated domestic supplier of recycled cathode active material (CAM) for UK-based gigafactories. | The UK government implements stricter local content rules for EV subsidies or provides direct capital for strategic projects. | The company is already engaged in government-backed projects and trade missions, positioning itself as a national infrastructure player [Altilium, Mar 2024][Altilium, Oct 2025]. |
| Process Licensing & JV Expansion | The patented EcoCathode and new EcoMineral processes are licensed to mining or chemical companies in Europe and North America. | A strategic partnership with a major materials producer (e.g., SQM Lithium Ventures, an existing investor) to co-develop a facility outside the UK. | The recent patent filing for the EcoMineral process and the establishment of a subsidiary, ReOre Technologies, signal an intent to commercialize technology beyond its own plants [Altilium, Feb 2026]. |
What compounding looks like for Altilium is a dual flywheel driven by feedstock security and process data. Securing long-term partnerships for end-of-life battery collection, as seen with SYNETIQ and LV= [Altilium, Feb 2024], guarantees a consistent input stream for its plants. This operational data, in turn, refines the hydrometallurgical process, improving recovery rates and lowering costs, which makes the recycled materials more competitive against virgin mining. Lower costs and proven quality then attract more automotive partners, which further secures feedstock and validates the technology for licensing. The early signs of this loop are present in the claimed 50% reduction in carbon emissions and 20% lower costs compared to virgin materials [Altilium, Feb 2024].
The size of the win can be framed by looking at the valuation of public peers in the battery materials and recycling space. For instance, Li-Cycle Holdings Corp., a North American lithium-ion battery recycler, reached a market capitalization of approximately $1 billion prior to the challenges of scaling its hub-and-spoke model. If Altilium successfully executes the UK Sovereign Champion scenario and scales its ACT3 plant to process 24,000 EV batteries annually as planned [Altilium, Oct 2025], it could capture a significant portion of the UK's emerging circular battery economy. A credible outcome in this scenario could see the company valued as a strategic national asset, with a potential valuation in the high hundreds of millions to low billions of dollars, contingent on demonstrating commercial-scale throughput and signed offtake agreements. (Scenario, not a forecast).
Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Growth scenarios and opportunity size are extrapolated from company announcements and a single public peer. The core premise of becoming a sovereign platform is supported by cited partnerships and government-backed projects.
Sources
PUBLIC
[Altilium, Apr 2026] Altilium - Sustainable, low carbon battery materials | https://altilium.tech/
[Crunchbase] Altilium Clean Technology - Crunchbase | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/altilium-clean-technology
[Altilium, Jul 2025] Altilium Completes Oversubscribed Series B1 Retail Raise | https://altilium.tech/2025/07/31/altilium-completes-oversubscribed-series-b1-retail-raise/
[Altilium, Sep 2023] Series A - Altilium Clean Technology | https://www.crunchbase.com/funding_round/altilium-clean-technology-series-a--70ffaf2e
[Altilium, Mar 2024] Altilium partners with Nissan for UK Government backed multimillion-pound Electric Vehicle Battery Recycling Project | https://altilium.tech/2024/03/04/altilium-partners-with-nissan-for-uk-government-backed-multimillion-pound-electric-vehicle-battery-recycling-project/
[TheNextWeb] UK startup Altilium bags £18.5m... | https://thenextweb.com/news/1417451-altilium-drive35-ev-battery-recycling-plymouth
[Altilium.tech, Unknown] Process - Altilium | https://altilium.tech/process/
[UKBIC] Altilium and UKBIC announce successful production of UK's first EV battery cells made from recycled materials | https://www.ukbic.co.uk/altilium-and-ukbic-announce-successful-production-of-uk-s-first-ev-battery-cells-made-from-recycled-materials
[Altilium, Dec 2024] Altilium commences activities at ACT 2 EV Battery Recycling Plant | https://altilium.tech/2024/12/01/altilium-achieves-key-milestone-with-commencement-of-activities-at-new-ev-battery-recycling-plant/
[Altilium, Oct 2025] Altilium joins industry leaders and UK Prime Minister for historic trade mission to India | https://altilium.tech/2025/10/08/9144/
[Altilium, Feb 2026] Altilium files patent for EcoMineral™ process and establishes ReOre Technologies to unlock minerals from mine waste | https://altilium.tech/2026/02/26/altilium-files-patent-for-ecomineral-process-and-establishes-reore-technologies-to-unlock-minerals-from-mine-waste/
[BloombergNEF] BloombergNEF EV Battery Recycling Market Outlook | (URL not provided in structured facts; entry omitted)
[European Parliament, July 2023] EU Battery Regulation | (URL not provided in structured facts; entry omitted)
[International Energy Agency] IEA Global Critical Minerals Outlook | (URL not provided in structured facts; entry omitted)
[Altilium, Feb 2024] Altilium, SYNETIQ and LV= Collaborate To Close The Loop On UK EV Battery Recycling | https://altilium.tech/2024/02/14/altilium-synetiq-and-lv-collaborate-to-close-the-loop-on-uk-ev-battery-recycling/
Articles about Altilium
- Altilium's UK Battery Recycling Plant Aims to Keep Critical Minerals Onshore — The Plymouth-based startup is scaling a patented nitric acid process to feed new EV cells from old ones, backed by SQM Lithium Ventures and an £18.5 million grant.