Weardale Lithium

Weardale Lithium Limited, an innovative natural resources company based in County Durham, UK is pleased to announce that together with Tees Valley Lithium Ltd, it has secured a joint funding package of approximately £613,000, which includes a grant of approximately £430,000 from Innovate UK.

Through collaborative research and development, the two companies are building upon the Memorandum of Understanding signed last year to evaluate the potential synergies of both producing and refining lithium in the North East of England.

The project is specifically concerned with novel methods for the production and refinement of lithium extracted from geothermal brine resources in the context of developing an integrated and robust route from 'borehole to battery', all within the North-East region.

The funding will advance feasibility studies and scale-up activities to further a battery-supply chain industrial hub and include the evaluation of the potential for Weardale Lithium to supply lithium to Tees Valley Lithium for refining.

Innovate UK is the UK’s national innovation agency. It drives productivity and economic growth by supporting businesses to develop and realise the potential of new ideas.

The funding provided under the Launchpad: Net Zero, CR&D Tees Valley, R2 competition supports outstanding innovation projects that grow activities in the Net Zero innovation cluster centred on Tees Valley and supports the Government’s goals in the Levelling Up White Paper.

Stewart Dickson, CEO of Weardale Lithium, said: "Weardale Lithium has the objective to become a UK supplier of lithium from geothermal brines. This collaborative project with Tees Valley Lithium is another important step in developing an integrated and coherent supply of lithium in North East England. In order to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles and meet net-zero targets, the UK needs to secure supply of lithium for refining and production of battery-grade lithium products.

Having been the first company to produce lithium carbonate from geothermal brines in the North East earlier this year, we are entering a scale-up phase. This collaboration with Tees Valley Lithium is highly-beneficial for both parties as we both seek to advance towards larger scale testing and construction of pilot facilities. A local supply of high-value critical minerals products should generate highly skilled science, technology and engineering opportunities and at the same time, reducing the environmental impacts and supply risks of imported raw materials”.

Sam Quinn, Director of Tees Valley Lithium said: “We are delighted to have received this grant from Innovate UK and look forward to our collaboration with Weardale Lithium as we seek to bring back high value manufacturing to the North East and help develop a potential UK-based supply chain for the lithium sector.

At Wilton in the Teesside Freeport, TVL is establishing Europe’s largest low-carbon merchant lithium hydroxide refinery. Each of the four trains at Wilton will take feedstock in the form of lithium sulphate or crude carbonate, to produce 24,000 tpa of battery-grade lithium hydroxide (or carbonate equivalent) feeding directly into the European and international battery cell manufacturers.”

ENDS

NEWS RELEASE: ISSUED ON BEHALF OF WEARDALE LITHIUM

For further information contact Jamie Collis 01325 363436

Notes for Editors:

About Weardale Lithium

Weardale Lithium Limited is an innovative natural resources company seeking to provide a secure and sustainable, domestic supply of lithium with associated geothermal energy from underground brines in Weardale, County Durham. Extraction of lithium from brines by Direct Lithium Extraction processes has been assessed by third parties to have higher sustainability credentials (low water consumption and low waste) when compared to processing techniques required for alternative lithium sources.

Supply of domestic lithium is of strategic importance to the UK in achieving its net-zero ambitions and production of high-value batteries for electric vehicles in the auto-manufacturing sector. Lithium is classified as a Critical Mineral by the UK Government. There is no lithium production or refining in the UK and Europe despite a significant market opportunity and rising demand. Lithium produced and refined in the UK will confer transportation cost advantages, supply assurances and an environmental-premium over foreign suppliers. Weardale Lithium will support the "net-zero" ambitions of the UK.

For more information, please visit: www.weardalelithium.co or follow us @weardalelithium on X and Weardale Lithium on LinkedIn.

About Tees Valley Lithium

Tees Valley Lithium is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alkemy Capital Investments Plc (“Alkemy”) which is seeking to develop, construct and operate the world’s leading independent and sustainable lithium hydroxide production facility.

Alkemy, through Tees Valley Lithium, has secured a 9.6 ha brownfields site at the Wilton International Chemicals Park located in Teesside, a major UK Freeport.

Alkemy has completed a Class 4 Feasibility Study for its proposed lithium hydroxide facility which will process feedstock imported from various sources to produce 96,000 tonnes of premium, low-carbon lithium hydroxide annually, representing around 15% of Europe’s projected demand.

For further information, please visit Alkemy’s website: www.alkemycapital.co.uk or TVL’s website www.teesvalleylithium.co.uk.