LevertonHelm has launched a new £30 million (US$40 million) lithium chloride production plant in Basingstoke, marking a significant investment in the UK’s battery materials infrastructure. With a production capacity of 10,000 tonnes per year, the plant is now the largest of its kind in Europe, converting lithium carbonate—imported primarily from South America—into a 40% lithium chloride solution used in electric vehicle (EV) batteries and energy storage systems.
The new facility replaces a smaller 3,000-tonne-per-year operation and comes equipped with enhanced automation features, including pH probes and inline densometers, which improve both speed and precision. Full-scale operations are expected to begin in June.
According to LevertonHelm, the project reflects growing pressure to develop a more resilient and localized battery supply chain in Europe. The facility aims to reduce dependency on foreign processing, particularly in China, which currently handles about 60% of the world’s lithium midstream processing.
The UK’s Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre has recently highlighted lithium as a high-risk material, warning that domestic demand could require up to 40% of global supply by 2030. LevertonHelm has signaled openness to sourcing lithium carbonate domestically if price and availability conditions are met, citing emerging UK-based suppliers such as Cornish Lithium and Tees Valley Lithium.
As new battery technologies like solid-state cells continue to develop, the company expects demand for lithium chloride to rise further. LevertonHelm sees this plant as a foundation for scaling up with market needs.
