The Redruth-based facility marks the country’s first commercial production of lithium, a metal essential for electric vehicle batteries and energy storage systems.
Initial production is set at 100 tons per year, with plans to expand to 1,500 tons per year within a few years and to more than 18,000 tons in the next decade. That long-term expansion would require an estimated £640 million, or about US$860 million, in additional investment.
Beijing’s use of export restrictions on critical materials last year has further exacerbated the country’s concerns about supply vulnerability. China currently controls about 60 percent of global lithium processing capacity and dominates much of the downstream battery supply chain.
The British government has set a target of producing 50,000 tonnes of lithium domestically by 2035. Demand is expected to rise as electric vehicle adoption increases and network-scale energy storage grows.
GEL’s project combines lithium extraction with geothermal energy production. The company has drilled almost three miles underground in granite formations in Cornwall, circulating mineral-rich fluids that are both hot enough to generate electricity and contain dissolved lithium.
The geothermal power plant, which will also be switched on this week, will power the lithium extraction process. The excess electricity is expected to generate enough electricity to power 10,000 households.
GEL founder Ryan Law said combining lithium production with geothermal energy is critical for cost control. “We can easily compete with what’s coming out of China,” says Law told the Financial Times.
The project has so far cost approximately $67.5 million, funded by private investors and $20.25 million from the European Development Fund. The British government also provided a $2.43 million grant, covering half the cost of the initial lithium extraction system.
Cornwall has become the center of Britain’s lithium ambitions. Several companies are working to bring projects online, although timelines have shifted due to volatile lithium prices.
For example, Cornish Lithium, which is already producing small quantities of lithium hydroxide samples for potential customers since October and targeting a commercial plant by 2029, had reduced its 2030 production target from 25,000 tonnes per year to 20,000 tonnes.
Meanwhile, British refiner Green Lithium has also postponed the opening of its business Commercial facility on Teesside until around 2029, employing what co-founder Guy Hatcher called a “more phased development strategy.”
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Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, have no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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