Japanese trading house Marubeni has invested $5 million in British electric vehicle battery recycler Altilium to help scale up its operations, the companies announced on Tuesday.
This investment is part of Altilium’s Series B fundraising efforts, following a $9.4 million contribution from the corporate venture arm of Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile’s (SQM) lithium business to Altilium’s $12 million Series A round last year.
As the electric vehicle (EV) market grows, there is increasing competition to recycle valuable minerals from EV batteries, such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel, which can be worth thousands of euros per vehicle.
Altilium is positioning itself as one of the companies leading the charge in Europe to address this growing need. The company’s current small recycling plant is set to process around 24,000 EV battery packs annually by 2026, with plans to expand to 150,000 by 2030.
To achieve this ambitious goal, Altilium estimates that more than $1 billion in investment will be required. Chief Operating Officer Christian Marston noted that SQM has been instrumental in assisting Altilium with engineering and scale-up efforts.
Meanwhile, Marubeni has been crucial in providing both EV batteries for recycling and financial support. “Marubeni’s strength lies in bringing partners that can support building high capex infrastructure in the UK and a domestic supply chain independent of China,” Marston said.
