The Cornish lithium now powering real batteries

A battery no bigger than a coat button has just answered a serious question about Cornwall’s mining revival. Can rock pulled from Cornish ground go on to power something real? Cornish Lithium says the answer is yes.

From Cornish ore to a working battery

The company has confirmed that lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM), produced from ore mined at its Trelavour Lithium Project and processed at its Demonstration Plant, has been successfully used to manufacture coin cell batteries. It marks an important step towards a secure domestic supply of battery-grade lithium for the UK.

The LHM was produced using Cornish Lithium’s own proprietary LiStract technology. The company supplied around two kilograms of the battery-grade material to CPI, the translational research and innovation organisation, for independent battery cell manufacture and testing.

Using that material, CPI built and evaluated lithium-ion coin cell batteries to assess how well they performed electrochemically.

📷Coin cell battery testing using lithium hydroxide monohydrate produced from ore sourced from Cornish Lithium's Trelavour Lithium Project

How the cells performed

The results speak for themselves. The batteries performed in line with, and in some areas exceeded, the performance of comparable cells made using commercially available LHM.

Cornish Lithium says the test programme provides independent validation both of the battery-grade quality of the LHM produced at Trelavour and of the effectiveness of the LiStract process itself.

Jamie Airnes, CEO of Cornish Lithium, said the team at Trelavour had put in a significant amount of work developing and optimising the Demonstration Plant “to produce a high-quality lithium hydroxide that meets the demanding specifications of the battery industry.”

“The successful battery testing undertaken with CPI provides valuable real-world validation of both our lithium hydroxide product and our proprietary technology,” Jamie said. “This places Cornish Lithium in a strong position as we continue to advance the development of our Trelavour Lithium Project and engage with potential customers and offtake partners.”

He added that the work reinforces the company’s decision to invest in the Demonstration Plant, and validates a process that has been tested and refined over several years. “The technology enables us to produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide from domestic resources and supports our ambition to establish a secure and sustainable lithium supply chain to support the UK’s growing battery manufacturing sector.”

What it means for the UK supply chain

Minister for Reindustrialisation Blair McDougall called it “a really encouraging milestone for Cornish Lithium” that shows what’s possible when British innovation and expertise are put to work. “It shows we can mine, refine and use critical minerals here in Britain to support the industries of the future,” he said.

“Cornwall has a proud industrial heritage, and companies like Cornish Lithium are helping write its next chapter,” Blair added. “Through our Critical Minerals Strategy, we’re backing businesses like this to grow, invest and help build the supply chains we need for the years ahead.”

Frank Millar, CEO of CPI, said building a resilient UK battery supply chain depends both on securing domestic sources of critical materials and on demonstrating that those materials can actually deliver the performance industry needs.

“Our team has manufactured and tested battery cells using lithium hydroxide produced from UK-mined material, demonstrating performance in line with, and in some areas exceeding, that of established commercial materials,” Frank said. “Independent testing of this kind is an important step in building confidence in new technologies and accelerating their path towards commercialisation.”

Backing from Westminster and from home

The Trelavour Lithium Project sits within Noah Law MP’s constituency, and the local MP was quick to frame the result in terms of what it could mean for the area.

“The clay country has been producing the minerals the rest of the country depends on for generations,” Noah said. “This result shows it can do the same for the batteries that will power the next century. Lithium mined and refined a few miles from here is performing as well as anything the industry buys from abroad.”

“That is a genuine achievement,” he said, “and it means skilled jobs and long-term investment in communities that have too often been asked to wait for them.”

📷Coin cell battery testing using lithium hydroxide monohydrate produced from ore sourced from Cornish Lithium's Trelavour Lithium Project