Altilium, a UK-based technology company which specialises in electric vehicle (EV) battery recycling, has launched a crowdfunding campaign.

Republic Europe, an online private investing platform, has partnered with Altilium, raising funds to support the company in scaling up its EV battery recycling technology.

This round of crowdfunding followed Altilium’s successful Series B raise, which was supported by Mizuho Bank, and Marubeni Corporation, a Japanese trading group.

Dr Christian Marson, chief operating officer at Altilium, said: “This crowdfunding campaign is about more than raising capital – it’s about building a community of supporters who believe in a cleaner, more sustainable future.

“We’re incredibly proud to have the backing of major international groups and we’re excited to now open the door to individual investors who want to be part of our growth story.”

The company hopes to recover materials from used EV batteries on a large scale, using a process it calls ‘EcoCathode’, which is capable of recovering more than 95% of critical metals from EV batteries, including lithium, cobalt, and nickel.

It is hoped that this will reduce the UK’s dependence on the imported raw materials necessary for EV battery production, creating a circular economy for battery materials, and reducing waste.

Based in Devon, Altilium currently operates a pair of facilities in Plymouth, with one more under construction, and a fourth in the planning phase, which is set to be one of the largest EV recycling facilities in Europe.

The fourth facility, planned to be built in Teeside, is hoped to be able to recover materials from 150,000 EVs annually, meeting 20% of the UK’s anticipated demand by 2030.

Since its founding in 2020, Altilium has secured funding from investment groups, a major Chilean lithium company, as well as from a 2022 round of crowdfunding.