Cornish Lithium Marks a Year of Significant Progress Ahead of 2026

Published On: 17 December 2025Last Updated: 17 December 2025By CornishStuff

📷 Cornish Lithium Trelavour Demonstration Plant - Credit: Cornish Lithium

Cornish Lithium has reported another year of major progress, marking 2025 as a period of strong momentum as the company moves towards commercial lithium production in Cornwall.

The business says it has reached significant milestones across both its hard rock and geothermal lithium work, while strengthening its position within the UK’s critical minerals sector.

Backing a UK lithium supply

In November, Cornish Lithium welcomed the launch of the UK Government’s new Critical Minerals Strategy, which includes a national target for domestic lithium extraction.

The strategy sets out a goal to produce at least 50,000 tonnes of lithium per year by 2035 and is backed by up to £50 million of new funding. Cornish Lithium has long supported the introduction of a clear domestic target, which it says is key to unlocking investment, speeding up development and creating a resilient UK supply chain for battery grade lithium.

📷Cornish Lithium First Lithium Samples - Credit: Cornish Lithium

First lithium refined entirely in the UK

Ahead of the strategy announcement, Cornish Lithium became the first company to produce lithium hydroxide monohydrate mined and refined entirely in the UK.

Lithium hydroxide monohydrate is a critical raw material for lithium ion batteries, which are used in electric vehicles, smartphones, energy storage systems and drone technology.

The samples were produced at the company’s demonstration plant, which brings together all stages of processing using patented low carbon technology developed through years of research. Following the success of the plant, Cornish Lithium plans to build a full scale processing and refining facility capable of producing up to 10,000 tonnes per year.

International recognition for Trelavour

The Trelavour Lithium Project received official designation as a Minerals Security Partnership Project, announced during the Prime Minister’s trade delegation to Mumbai.

The designation recognises the project’s role in global critical mineral supply chains and allows Cornish Lithium to work alongside international governments to develop secure and responsible supplies of essential minerals.

New technology and growing resources

During 2025, Cornish Lithium completed the acquisition of full intellectual property and patents for lithium processing technology from Australian company Lepidico.

The technology will be used at Trelavour and may also be licensed to other mining companies around the world.

A resource update for the Trelavour Lithium Project also showed a 50 percent increase in contained lithium. The updated figures support production of around 10,000 tonnes per year of battery grade lithium hydroxide for at least 20 years. Work on the project’s Feasibility Study remains on track for early 2026.

📷Cornish Lithium Community Consultation - Credit: Cornish Lithium

Investment and community consultation

To move closer to commercial production, Cornish Lithium launched a crowdfunding campaign following the announcement of £35 million of funding from institutional investors including the National Wealth Fund and TechMet.

The crowdfunding campaign raised a further £2.6 million from 3,719 investors in just 14 days.

A six week non statutory consultation was also held for the Trelavour Lithium Project, giving local stakeholders and communities the chance to share feedback on plans for construction, operation and decommissioning. The project is expected to create around 800 jobs during construction and approximately 300 jobs during its 20 year operational life, with operations targeted to begin in 2029.

📷Cornish Lithium Strengthens Leadership Team - Credit: Cornish Lithium

Leadership changes and government engagement

The company strengthened its leadership team in 2025 with several key appointments. Jamie Airnes joined as Chief Executive Officer, while Founder Jeremy Wrathall became Executive Chairman. Gary Steven was appointed as a Non Executive Director representing the National Wealth Fund.

Jamie later joined a UK trade delegation to Mumbai alongside Prime Minister Keir Starmer, representing the critical minerals sector. The company also hosted visits from government ministers and Cornish MPs at the Trelavour site.

📷Cornish Lithium Trelavour Demonstration Plant - Credit: Cornish Lithium

Geothermal lithium plans near Chacewater

Cornish Lithium secured planning consent to build the UK’s first commercial geothermal lithium production facility at its Cross Lanes Project near Chacewater.

The site will include production scale geothermal wells and a temporary demonstration plant using Direct Lithium Extraction technology. Further exploration work has also taken place at Tolgus near Redruth and Besore near Truro.

Global recognition and sustainability focus

The company was named one of TIME Magazine’s World’s Top GreenTech Companies, ranking among the top 250 globally and seventh in the UK.

Cornish Lithium also published its fourth annual Sustainability Report, covering responsible resource use, people and human rights, and governance and compliance.

Supporting the Armed Forces community

Cornish Lithium also signed the Armed Forces Covenant during 2025, reinforcing its commitment to fair treatment for employees who are Armed Forces veterans, reservists and their family members.

By signing the Covenant, the company joined nearly 13,000 organisations across the UK that support current and former members of the Armed Forces community, as well as those who balance civilian careers with military service.

📷Cornish Lithium Cross Lanes Project - Credit: Cornish Lithium

Community support and looking ahead

Community engagement continued throughout the year, with the company awarding £14,820 to eight local organisations through its Community Fund. The next round of awards is due to be announced in February 2026.

Looking ahead, Cornish Lithium expects to publish its Economic Impact Report in the first quarter of 2026 and begin drilling at the Cross Lanes site.

Jamie Airnes, CEO of Cornish Lithium, said:

“2025 was another phenomenal year for Cornish Lithium, marking significant progress towards securing a domestic supply of battery-grade lithium for the UK. As we look ahead to 2026, our focus remains on advancing our projects to support the UK’s commitment to develop and produce lithium resources domestically and create long-term economic opportunities and high-quality careers for Cornwall.”