Government puts Teesside at the heart of Britain’s lithium supply chain

That is the gap TVL was established to close.

Official response and confirmed impact

The company already has a memorandum of understanding with Geothermal Engineering, linking Cornish supply to Teesside refining and joining the two Government-backed projects in a single domestic chain.

Vikki Jeckell, Chief Executive of TVL, said: “Britain can mine lithium, but it cannot put that lithium into a battery without refining it.

Government has now backed both halves of that equation. Cornwall supplies the resource, and Teesside turns it into battery-grade material.

That is what a sovereign supply chain looks like.”

TVL is developing a £185 million first-phase refinery at Billingham capable of producing 25,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium hydroxide a year, with scope to grow up to 100,000 tonnes.

The first phase is expected to support around 1,700 jobs across operations, the supply chain and construction.

The Government expects demand for lithium to rise by 1,100 per cent by 2035 as carmakers switch to electric vehicles.