Cornish Lithium has produced the UK’s first samples of battery-grade lithium hydroxide, marking a major step towards a domestic, low-carbon supply chain for electric vehicles and clean energy storage.
A Local Company with Global Ambitions
Cornish Lithium is a Penryn-based mining and technology company founded in 2016 by former investment banker and mining engineer Jeremy Wrathall. The company’s goal is to produce lithium sustainably within the UK, thereby reducing reliance on imports and supporting the transition to electric vehicles and renewable energy.
The business operates across two key areas of lithium extraction, i.e., hard rock and geothermal brines. Its projects are centred in Cornwall, where it is exploring and developing lithium resources from granite and hot spring waters deep underground. Through a combination of traditional mining expertise and modern processing technology, Cornish Lithium aims to make Cornwall a cornerstone of Britain’s green industrial future.
The Factory
At the heart of the latest breakthrough is the company’s Trelavour Hard Rock Project near St Dennis, Cornwall. Built on a repurposed china clay pit, the Trelavour Demonstration Plant began operating in 2024 and represents the UK’s first low-emission lithium hydroxide production facility. The site seems to embody sustainable redevelopment in practice in that it’s transforming a brownfield location once central to the region’s clay industry into a clean-tech hub for critical minerals.
Hydrometallurgical Processing
The plant uses hydrometallurgical processing to refine lithium-bearing mica from Cornish granite into high-purity lithium hydroxide. It also acts as a testing ground for new refining technologies that could later be scaled up for full commercial production. According to the company, commercial operations are expected to begin in 2027 with a planned output of around 10,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide per year.
Why This Discovery Matters
Cornish Lithium’s discovery lies not only in the presence of lithium-bearing granite but in the ability to extract and refine it locally using cleaner methods. For example, the company estimates that its operations can achieve at least a 40 per cent reduction in carbon emissions compared with typical international lithium production, where ores are mined in Australia, shipped to China for refining, and then exported to Europe.
As CEO Jeremy Wrathall explained when the first samples were announced, “This achievement demonstrates that Cornwall can once again play a vital role in supporting Britain’s industrial future — this time through the production of sustainable, battery-grade lithium.”
Cornwall’s geology has long been known to contain lithium, but until recently it was not considered economically viable to extract. However, it seems that advances in processing technology, along with rising global demand and the UK’s push for net zero, have changed that outlook. In essence, the region’s combination of mineral-rich granite and geothermal resources makes it uniquely positioned to supply both hard-rock and brine-based lithium sustainably.
What’s Being Produced And Who For?
The Trelavour Demonstration Plant produces lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM), which is a high-purity chemical essential for lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles and large-scale energy storage systems. Battery-grade LHM is particularly suited to high-nickel cathodes, which are used by leading EV manufacturers to deliver higher energy density and longer range.
Cornish Lithium’s immediate aim is to refine enough material to demonstrate commercial viability and secure supply agreements with UK gigafactories and automotive manufacturers. The longer-term goal, combining both hard rock and geothermal extraction, is to produce up to 25,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent annually by 2030.
Currently, the UK imports almost all of its battery-grade lithium, leaving the country’s growing EV and battery industries reliant on international supply chains dominated by China. Local production from Cornwall would allow UK manufacturers to shorten those supply lines, cut emissions, and improve energy security.
Investment and Strategic Importance
In September 2025, Cornish Lithium secured up to £35 million in new funding, including £31 million from the UK’s National Wealth Fund and additional investment from TechMet, a critical minerals investor partly backed by the US government. This funding is earmarked to expand operations at Trelavour and advance the company’s geothermal projects.
The investment also forms part of the UK government’s broader strategy to establish a secure domestic supply chain for EV batteries. The Automotive Transformation Fund and other initiatives aim to ensure that gigafactories planned in Sunderland, Coventry, and Somerset have access to local raw materials, which is likely to be a key factor in their long-term sustainability and cost competitiveness.
Carbon Savings and Sustainability
Even though the idea of mining doesn’t seem that conducive to conserving the environment and sustainability, the sustainability benefits of local lithium production actually extend well beyond emissions. For example, processing and refining lithium within Cornwall eliminates the need for transcontinental shipping and significantly lowers the embodied carbon in each tonne of lithium hydroxide produced.
Local production also improves traceability, which is a growing requirement for European battery makers under emerging “battery passport” rules that demand transparency on the source and environmental impact of materials.
Also, by situating the plant on a disused industrial site, Cornish Lithium has actually revived part of Cornwall’s long-mining heritage in a modern, environmentally responsible way. The company estimates its projects could create more than 300 skilled jobs, contributing to regional regeneration and helping to retain talent in the South West.
The project’s reliance on UK and European technology partnerships also supports intellectual property development and knowledge transfer. By bringing advanced refining processes, such as those licensed from Australia’s Lepidico, onto British soil, the company is helping to develop local expertise in hydrometallurgy and battery chemistry.
Competitors and the Industry
Cornish Lithium’s milestone actually places it at the forefront of a growing UK lithium industry. However, it is not alone. For example, Imerys British Lithium, also based near St Austell, is developing a separate hard-rock project and has already produced pilot-scale lithium carbonate from mica-rich granite. The company plans to scale up to around 20,000 tonnes per year, potentially making it another major domestic supplier by the late 2020s.
Further north, Green Lithium is constructing a large lithium refinery at Teesside that will process imported spodumene concentrate into lithium hydroxide, complementing the raw material supply coming from Cornwall. Meanwhile, Northern Lithium is exploring brine-based extraction in the North East using direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology.
Together, these projects signal the emergence of a full UK lithium supply chain, encompassing extraction, processing, and eventual recycling, which is a development that could make the UK less dependent on imported critical minerals.
Challenges and Criticisms
Despite its progress, Cornish Lithium faces some significant hurdles. For example, Cornwall’s lithium grades are lower than those of high-grade spodumene ores mined in Australia, which could affect production costs and competitiveness. Energy-intensive refining processes also present challenges in a country with some of Europe’s highest industrial electricity prices.
The company must also navigate permitting and community engagement. For example, although its operations are based on brownfield sites, local stakeholders have raised questions about water use, noise, and the environmental management of tailings and waste.
Another challenge lies in the volatility of global lithium prices. As the Financial Times has reported, financing large-scale lithium projects can be difficult without government guarantees or long-term offtake agreements, particularly when prices fall from recent highs.
There are also broader market questions. The UK’s gigafactory sector remains nascent, and if domestic battery production fails to grow as quickly as expected, local lithium producers could struggle to find nearby buyers.
That said, for now, the company’s combination of local sourcing, low-emission processing, and government-backed funding positions it as one of the most advanced and strategically significant lithium ventures in Europe.
What Does This Mean For Your Business?
Cornish Lithium’s progress could be a real turning point in how the UK approaches its clean energy supply chain. By combining extraction, processing, and refining within one region, the company has shown that it is possible to produce critical battery materials closer to where they are used, with substantially lower emissions than imported alternatives. The immediate impact is industrial rather than symbolic, since it demonstrates that local lithium production is not just feasible but commercially and environmentally credible.
For UK businesses, particularly those in automotive manufacturing and energy storage, this development could prove decisive. For example, a domestic source of battery-grade lithium would reduce dependence on long global supply chains, stabilise costs, and make it easier to meet carbon reporting and traceability standards that are becoming central to procurement. It could also help strengthen the competitiveness of UK gigafactories, ensuring that jobs and intellectual property linked to electrification remain within the country. For other stakeholders, including local communities and policymakers, the benefits extend to regional regeneration, skilled employment, and the revival of industrial activity in an area that once relied on mining.
At the same time, it is clear that success will depend on more than geology. Cornish Lithium and its peers must scale up efficiently, manage environmental impacts transparently, and align with downstream demand from battery producers. The challenge for government and industry alike will be to create a framework that rewards sustainable extraction and encourages private investment without distorting the market.
If those conditions are met, Cornwall’s emerging lithium industry could form the foundation of a genuinely circular, low-carbon supply chain for the UK’s transition to clean transport and renewable power. In that sense, the real significance of the Trelavour plant lies not only in the metal it produces but in the model it represents, i.e., a local, collaborative, and technologically advanced approach to sustainable resource development.
