Watercycle Technologies secured £3 million in UK government funding for ReLiVE, a £6 million project recovering battery-grade lithium from wastewater and battery recycling. Using proprietary DLEC technology, the 36-month project aims to build domestic lithium refining capacity for electric vehicle batteries, reducing the UK’s reliance on imports.
Watercycle Technologies has secured £3 million ($3.8 million) in UK government grant funding toward a £6 million ($7.6 million) project to demonstrate battery-grade lithium recovery from waste streams at scale in the UK, aiming to reduce the electric vehicle industry’s reliance on imported lithium chemicals.
The funding comes through the DRIVE35 Scale Up Fund, part of the UK government’s £4 billion ($5 billion) DRIVE35 program, delivered by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade in partnership with the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) UK and Innovate UK.
The 36-month project, named Recover, Refine, Recharge: Scaling Lithium Extraction from Wastewater for UK Battery Production (ReLiVE), will be led by Watercycle Technologies starting in April 2027.
ReLiVE will design, build and operate a pilot-to-demonstration-scale lithium production facility in the UK using Watercycle’s proprietary DLEC technology. The system recovers lithium from industrial wastewater and lithium-bearing materials generated during battery recycling, then refines it into high-purity lithium salts suitable for use in electric vehicle batteries.
Lithium is classified as a critical mineral by the UK government and is an essential component of electric vehicle batteries. The country currently has no significant domestic lithium refining capacity and remains dependent on imported lithium chemicals, a gap the project aims to help close as electric vehicle adoption and domestic battery manufacturing increase demand.
The project will work with partners across the UK’s lithium refining, battery and automotive sectors to ensure the material meets industry requirements for use in cathode materials and battery cells. Environmental and economic assessments will also examine the approach’s potential to lower the carbon footprint of imported lithium chemicals, reduce wastewater pollution, and enable competitive production through modular deployment.
According to Dr Ahmed Abdelkarim, co-founder and chief science officer at Watercycle Technologies, “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.”
He added: “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.”
