The October 2025 Company Update outlines major developments from the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) phase through to market information from SC Insights. With construction scheduled to begin in mid-2026, TVL remains on track to deliver battery-grade lithium hydroxide by early 2028.
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Centre will give customers early access to representative product, shortening the time from first production to full commercial volumes at Train 1
“Customers told us plainly what they need: our product in their hands, early,” said Vikki Jeckell, Chief Executive of Tees Valley Lithium.
Tees Valley Lithium (TVL) is to establish a Qualification and Validation Centre at the Billingham Chemical Complex, Teesside. The move responds to requirements from existing and prospective customers, including cathode manufacturers, cell manufacturers and OEMs.
Battery and cathode manufacturers validate a new supplier’s lithium hydroxide in their own production lines, a process that typically takes twelve months. For a new refinery, this usually begins once the plant is producing.
The centre will give customers early access to representative battery-grade lithium hydroxide, so validation can run in parallel with the construction of Train 1, the first 25,000 tonne per year production train of TVL’s refinery at Billingham. This is expected to shorten the time from first production to full commercial volumes.
The centre will be housed in an existing industrial building within the Billingham Chemical Complex. Its sampling line will replicate the Train 1 process configuration using Veolia’s process technology, so the product customers test is representative of the product the refinery will make. A customer and visitor area will allow customers and partners to review material and process performance at first hand.
The centre will also allow TVL to validate a wider range of feedstock, including lithium recovered by TVL’s battery recycling partners. Recycled feedstock supports customers’ obligations under the EU Battery Regulation, which requires minimum recycled lithium content in new batteries from 2031, with batch-level traceability provided through TVL’s partnership with Circulor.
Once complete, the centre will be able to process samples of lithium carbonate from Geothermal Engineering Limited’s demonstration plant in Cornwall, refining them to battery grade.
Vikki Jeckell added: “Qualification now runs alongside the development of the refinery rather than after it, which brings forward the point at which customers can move to commercial volumes. It also lets us test mined, brine and recycled feedstock side by side, and show that UK lithium, including domestic Cornish lithium from GEL, can be refined to battery grade on Teesside.”
Paul Atherley, Chairman of Alkemy Capital Investments, said: “The UK needs its own lithium-refining industry, and that industry will be built on the confidence of the customers it supplies. The Qualification and Validation Centre brings those customers to Billingham to work with TVL’s product firsthand. It is another practical step in building the world-class merchant lithium refinery the United Kingdom needs.”
Our offtake partner came to Teesside to see where the UK's first large-scale independent lithium hydroxide refinery will be developed.
Glencore, one of the world's largest commodity traders, visited Tees Valley Lithium's site at Billingham on 23 September 2026.
Glencore signed a binding offtake agreement with TVL in January 2026, committing to buy battery-grade lithium hydroxide from our planned refinery. The visit gave Glencore the chance to see first-hand where that product will be made.
Chief Commercial Officer Gemma Cooper and Chief Operating Officer Richard Rose hosted the visit. It began with a tour of the site, in the heart of the Billingham chemical cluster. TVL's technical and commercial team then took Glencore through product specification, quality assurance and the qualification pathway. These are the steps that prepare for supply under the offtake agreement.
Vikki Jeckell, CEO of Tees Valley Lithium, said:
"Glencore is one of the most respected names in global commodities, and they have committed to buying our product. Having them on site in Billingham, seeing first-hand where it will be made, shows the strength of that partnership. Europe is investing billions in gigafactories, yet almost all the battery-grade lithium those plants will run on is refined outside the continent. Refining is where supply security is decided, and we're developing that capability right here on Teesside with partners of Glencore's calibre alongside us."
The visit follows the UK Government's offer in principle of up to £18.3 million of capital grant support for TVL under the DRIVE35 programme, announced on 17 September 2026.
An offer in principle under the £4 billion DRIVE35 programme backs Phase 1 of our Billingham refinery.
Tees Valley Lithium has received an offer in principle from the UK Government for a capital grant of up to £18.3 million under the £4 billion DRIVE35 programme.
The support is delivered by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade in partnership with the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK. It is subject to final approvals. TVL is working with the department to complete the remaining due diligence and conditions needed to enter into a final grant agreement.
The offer supports Phase 1 of TVL's refinery at Billingham, a £185 million development that will produce 25,000 tonnes a year of battery-grade lithium hydroxide. That is enough for more than 550,000 electric vehicles a year. TVL plans to scale the site beyond 100,000 tonnes a year.
Phase 1 alone represents nearly half of the refining ambition the UK Critical Minerals Strategy has set for 2035.
The project has strong commercial foundations:
TVL's Impact Report estimates the refinery will contribute more than £2.1 billion to the UK economy over 25 years, including around £1 billion in the Tees Valley, and support more than 1,700 jobs.
Blair McDougall, Minister for Reindustrialisation, said:
"This is a really encouraging milestone for Tees Valley Lithium and proves what's possible with this kind of British innovation and expertise. It shows the vast potential for refining and using critical minerals here in Britain to back our zero emission vehicle manufacturing for the future. Teesside has a proud industrial heritage, and companies like Tees Valley Lithium are helping write its next chapter. Our £4 billion DRIVE35 programme is backing businesses like this to grow, invest and help build the supply chains we need for the future as part of our Industrial Strategy."
Chris McDonald, MP for Stockton North, said:
“This is a huge vote of confidence in Billingham, Teesside and Britain’s industrial future. I have supported the Tees Valley Lithium project since becoming MP and worked closely with the team as they have developed plans for what will be a major new lithium refining facility here in Billingham. As the government's industry minister last year, I developed and launched Britain's critical minerals strategy, that is securing investments like this in new materials processing and mining facilities.”
Vikki Jeckell, CEO of Tees Valley Lithium, said:
"This grant is a statement of confidence in Teesside, and it is a confidence we share with partners around the world, among them Glencore and Veolia, who have already committed to what we are building here. The Critical Minerals Strategy set Britain the task of creating domestic lithium refining capacity, and TVL exists to deliver it: Phase 1 alone represents nearly half of the 2035 target. Our focus now is delivering first battery-grade production in the UK.”
Paul Atherley, Chairman of Alkemy Capital Investments, said:
“We are very grateful to BIST and the Advanced Propulsion Centre for their support for the establishment of the UK’s flagship lithium refinery in Teesside. Located in the heart of Teesside’s port and industrial cluster and drawing on the region’s extensive chemical engineering heritage this future facing refinery will be one of the largest in Europe and will position the UK at the forefront of the biggest energy transition in history.”
Tees Valley Lithium Ltd. is a registered company in the United Kingdom. The company is committed to operating in accordance with applicable environmental, regulatory, and industry standards. All partnerships and activities are conducted with a focus on transparency, sustainability, and ethical business practices.
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