By Neil Tyler
Watercycle Technologies has secured £3 million in UK Government funding to support a project aimed at recovering and refining lithium from industrial waste streams for use in electric vehicle batteries, helping to strengthen domestic supplies of a critical battery material.
The funding has been awarded through the DRIVE35 Scale Up Fund, part of the Government’s £4 billion DRIVE35 programme delivered by the Department for Business and Trade in partnership with the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) and Innovate UK.
The grant will support ReLiVE (Recover, Refine, Recharge: Scaling Lithium Extraction from Wastewater for UK Battery Production), a £6 million, 36-month project led by Watercycle Technologies and scheduled to begin in April 2027.
The project will focus on the design, construction and operation of a pilot-to-demonstration-scale lithium production facility in the UK. Using Watercycle’s proprietary Direct Lithium Extraction and Crystallisation (DLEC™) technology, the plant will recover lithium from sources that would otherwise be treated as waste, including industrial wastewater and lithium-containing materials generated through battery recycling.
The recovered lithium will then be refined into high-purity lithium salts suitable for use in electric vehicle battery manufacturing.
The initiative is intended to demonstrate that battery-grade lithium can be produced commercially in the UK from circular and lower-carbon sources, reducing reliance on imported lithium chemicals and supporting the development of a domestic battery supply chain.
Lithium is classified by the UK Government as a critical mineral, with demand expected to increase significantly as electric vehicle adoption and battery production continue to expand. However, the UK currently has limited lithium refining capacity and remains heavily dependent on overseas suppliers.
Alongside lithium production, the project will evaluate the environmental and economic benefits of recovering valuable materials from wastewater streams. Assessments will examine potential reductions in carbon emissions, improvements in resource efficiency and the feasibility of deploying the technology at larger commercial scales.
The programme will also work with partners from across the UK’s lithium, battery and automotive sectors to ensure the refined material meets industry specifications and can be incorporated into battery cathode materials and cells.
Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Watercycle Technologies, Dr. Ahmed Abdelkarim said: “ReLiVE directly supports the UK’s ambition to build a secure, domestic supply of battery-grade lithium. The Government’s Critical Minerals Strategy sets a clear goal to establish large-scale UK lithium production and reduce our reliance on imports.
“By demonstrating that high-purity lithium can be produced from circular, low-carbon sources here in the UK, ReLiVE can help turn that ambition into reality. It shows how British innovation can support the transition to zero-emission transport while building the strategic capabilities the country needs for a more resilient battery supply chain.”
Chief Executive of the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK, Ian Constance said the project highlights the strength of UK innovation in automotive and clean technology.
“The projects announced today demonstrate the depth of innovation and engineering excellence that exists across the UK automotive sector. Through DRIVE35, we are supporting businesses to move promising technologies to commercial deployment and manufacturing at scale.”
The ReLiVE project marks an important step in Watercycle’s efforts to move its lithium recovery technology from pilot operations towards commercial-scale production, while demonstrating a circular approach to lithium refining that could help strengthen the UK’s battery manufacturing ecosystem.
