Northstar Ventures has led a £1.7m investment round, via its Venture Sunderland Fund, into Lithium Salvage, who plan to build a pioneering refinery for waste Lithium-ion household battery materials based in Sunderland.
The volume of waste generated from Lithium-ion household batteries used in items such as power tools, mobile phones and vacuum cleaners is already significant and likely to grow much further.
Much of this waste is currently sent overseas for processing due to a lack of domestic capacity.
These batteries contain valuable metals such as lithium, manganese, cobalt and nickel that can be recovered and reused.
The recycling of these materials is a critical component of the government’s ambition to improve the UK’s self-sufficiency in terms of critical material wastage.
Lithium Salvage has developed a proprietary, scalable and environmentally sustainable refining process to recover these metals as salts that can be sold through trading partners.
The company has ambitious plans to be the only end-to-end household Lithium-ion battery recycler in the UK by 2026.
To date, the business has been supported by Innovate UK and collaborations with Teesside University, the Centre for Process Innovation, GAP Group, Pennine Energy and 6th Engineering.
This funding round will support the scale up of the production process and enable the expansion of its Sunderland site.
Additional investment is from Sixth Wave Ventures, NPIF II – Maven Equity Finance, which is managed by Maven as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (“NPIF II”), supported by the British Business Bank, Gaspara Asset Management, and business angel investors from across the UK.
Tom O’Neill, Investment Manager, Northstar Ventures, said: “We are extremely pleased to lead this round of investment in Lithium Salvage as the second deal from our Venture Sunderland Fund.
“The Fund looks to support high-potential businesses that are seeking to start up or grow in Sunderland.
“Lithium Salvage is tackling a major environmental issue, whilst establishing a pioneering household Lithium-ion battery materials recycling facility in the Sunderland city region that builds on its strengths in battery technology and electrification. We look forward to working with them to achieve this vision.”
Simon Robeson, Chairman and Founder of Lithium Salvage, said: “Today’s funding announcement is a further vote of confidence in our vision, our technical capabilities and our mission to create a scalable and ecologically sound supply chain for recycled Lithium-ion battery materials.”
Duncan Noble, CEO said: “Li-Sal’s proprietary process delivers a sustainable, market-leading solution to the escalating UK need to recycle waste Lithium-ion batteries without creating other waste streams or shipping these valuable metals abroad.”
Michael Dickens, Investment Manager Maven Capital Partners said: “We’re delighted to support Li-Sal with its plans to commercialise a UK refinery for waste Li-Bat materials. “Simon and the team have built an impressive business and we look forward to supporting them as they seek to operate the UK’s first end to end household appliances Lithium-ion battery recycling facility based in Sunderland.”
Sarah Newbould, Senior Manager at British Business Bank said: “Innovative organisations that contribute to the green economy are exactly the type of businesses that NPIF II aims to empower through making finance more accessible to Northern entrepreneurs.
“This investment demonstrates how funding can generate a wider positive impact beyond business and create a more sustainable future for everyone.”