Watercycle Technologies has secured £1 million in grant funding from the UK Government to advance the CAMCYCLE project, a £2 million initiative designed to demonstrate a new approach to recycling lithium-ion batteries and producing new battery materials domestically. The funding has been awarded through the DRIVE35 Innovation Fund: Demonstrate 2 competition, part of the UK Government's £4 billion DRIVE35 programme, delivered by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade in partnership with the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK and Innovate UK. Led by Watercycle Technologies and supported by CPI, the 12-month CAMCYCLE project aims to deliver a more efficient route for converting end-of-life batteries into recycled cathode active material (CAM), a critical component for electric vehicle batteries.
The innovation represents a significant advancement in battery recycling technology, as it streamlines the conventional recycling process which typically involves breaking waste batteries into individual minerals before processing through multiple stages. The CAMCYCLE process cuts out at least three stages of conventional recycling by integrating battery recycling and CAM production into a single streamlined operation. Additionally, the process remediates wastewater generated during recycling, recovering valuable minerals and reintroducing them into production rather than allowing them to be lost as waste.
The project addresses a critical gap in the UK battery supply chain. Currently, the UK has no domestic CAM production capacity, and end-of-life battery materials are exported overseas for processing. This practice results in valuable critical minerals and economic value being lost to international markets.
By establishing a viable domestic route to produce CAM from recycled batteries, CAMCYCLE could help retain lithium and other critical minerals within the UK, reduce dependence on international supply chains, and provide more cost-competitive battery materials for the UK automotive industry. Dr Ahmed Abdelkarim, Chief Scientific Officer and Co-founder of Watercycle Technologies, stated that the project represents an opportunity to strengthen Britain's industrial resilience by converting end-of-life battery materials into domestic CAM production rather than exporting critical minerals overseas and purchasing them back at a premium. Frank Millar, CEO of CPI, emphasized that CAMCYCLE demonstrates how UK innovation can build a more resilient and sustainable battery supply chain while retaining the value of critical materials domestically, supporting the transition to a more circular economy.
The CAMCYCLE project builds on Watercycle's earlier ReCAM project, for which the company secured government funding in May 2026 in a consortium with UKBIC, Recyclus Group and Polaron to develop the short-loop conversion process. The current funding will enable Watercycle to accelerate facility upgrades while continuing development of its larger-scale recycling system. Source: The Manufacturer, 10 September 2026
Source: themanufacturer.com