Cawleys partners with Coventry battery centre

The £130 million UKBIC is a publicly funded 18,500 square metre battery development facility, due to become fully operational later this year.

The facility allows organisations in the UK to prove whether their promising technologies, from electrode and cell materials through to battery modules and packs, can be manufactured at the required volume, speed, performance and cost to be commercially successful.

The partnership will see Cawleys collect and transport lithium batteries and other hazardous and non-hazardous waste and recycling produced during the manufacturing process.

Cawleys says it will also provide Dangerous Goods Safety Advisor (DGSA) guidance and other industrial services to ensure the site remains clean and compliant.

Lithium battery recycling

Cawleys says it was awarded a contract after a “rigorous” tender process. The company says it was chosen above much larger national and international corporate waste management companies due to their “confidence and track record with lithium battery waste management” and “outstanding service delivery”.

“We are delighted to have been selected as a battery waste partner for UKBIC”

Alan Colledge, Cawleys

The head of Cawleys’ lithium battery recycling division, Alan Colledge, said: “We are delighted to have been selected as a battery waste partner for UKBIC. We have been working on methods to safely collect, transport, store, dismantle and recycle lithium batteries for many years now and it’s fantastic that our preparation and research has been recognised by such an important organisation.

“With the government committing to phase out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, electric vehicles are becoming increasingly important to our way of life. Ensuring the batteries that power them are sustainable and can be disposed of safely or recycled is vital.

UKBIC

The UKBIC is part of the government’s Faraday Battery Challenge through UK Research and Innovation and the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, a programme intending to fast track the development of recyclable batteries.

The facility is also part-funded through the West Midlands combined authority. The project has been delivered through a consortium of Coventry city council, Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership and WMG, at the University of Warwick.

Commenting on the partnership with Cawleys, Damian Pearce, UKBIC’s director of human resources, said: “The importance of the recycling of batteries cannot be overstated, something we at UKBIC see as a key part of the Faraday Battery Challenge’s objective of fast tracking the development of cost-effective, high-performance, durable, safe, low-weight and recyclable batteries.”