UK public fund to help drive new domestic lithium supply
- 28 September 2026
The UK’s £4 billion DRIVE35 public fund is set to get behind a proposed lithium extraction facility in Cornwall, England. Geothermal Engineering Ltd (GEL) wants to produce circa-1500 tonnes a year of technical-grade lithium carbonate from geothermal brine.
The company says it has a DRIVE35 offer in principle worth nearly £10 million for its planned £43 million project, which could employ about 50 people directly in the historically significant mining district.
“We are proud to be at the forefront of establishing a new UK lithium industry, demonstrating how Cornwall’s geothermal brine can provide a reliable and sustainable source of this critical mineral,” said GEL CEO Ryan Law.
“Lithium is fundamental to the technologies underpinning the automotive sector’s transition to zero-emission vehicles.”
GEL commissioned a lithium processing plant at Cornall earlier this year – able to produce about 100tpa of lithium carbonate – and said at the start of this month it had produced its first plus-99.3% purity LiCO.
“We are demonstrating that it is possible to produce a high-quality, saleable lithium product in the UK with the highest environmental standards, creating the potential for a more secure and sustainable domestic supply of this critical battery material,” Law said.
“This achievement marks an important step in our journey from pioneering technological development to large scale production.”
GEL is now aiming to scale up output at its United Downs facility to c1500tpa by 2029.
Technical-grade lithium carbonate was fetching about US$22,000/t in Shanghai last month.
Also this month Tees Valley Lithium reported receiving a c£18.3 million DRIVE35 offer in principle for phase one of its proposed £185 million, 25,000tpa lithium hydroxide refinery at Billingham in England’s north. A TVL Impact Report on the proposed refinery outlines potential contributions of more than £2.1 billion to the UK economy over 25 years.
“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,” said TVL CEO Vikki Jeckell.
