Watercycle Technologies Secures £1 Million UK Grant for Battery Recycling Project

According to company reports, Watercycle Technologies has secured £1 million in UK government funding for CAMCYCLE, a £2 million project aimed at demonstrating a shorter route for converting end-of-life lithium-ion batteries into recycled cathode active material (CAM) in the UK. The 12-month project is being led by Watercycle Technologies with support from the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI).

The funding comes 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 Technology in partnership with the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) and Innovate UK. 

CAMCYCLE is designed to integrate battery recycling and CAM production into a single process. Conventional recycling routes typically separate batteries into individual mineral streams before subjecting those materials to multiple processing stages to produce new battery materials. Watercycle said its process can eliminate at least three of these stages by converting recycled battery feedstock directly into CAM.

The project will also treat wastewater generated during the recycling process. Valuable minerals recovered from the wastewater will be returned to the process rather than discarded, according to the company.

The development addresses a gap in the UK battery supply chain. The country currently has no domestic CAM production, while end-of-life battery materials are exported overseas for further processing. Watercycle said CAMCYCLE could allow more lithium and other critical minerals recovered from spent batteries to remain in the UK, reducing exposure to international processing and supply chains.

“This project is about strengthening Britain’s industrial resilience,” said Dr Ahmed Abdelkarim, CSO and Co-founder of Watercycle Technologies. “The critical minerals inside end-of-life batteries are strategic assets for the UK yet today we export that value overseas and then buy it back at a premium.”

CPI CEO Frank Millar said the project could help retain the value of recovered critical materials in the UK while supporting the development of a more resilient domestic battery supply chain.

CAMCYCLE builds on Watercycle’s ReCAM project, which received UK government funding in May 2026 through a consortium involving UKBIC, Recyclus Group and Polaron. The earlier project began development of the company’s short-loop battery material conversion process.

The new funding will support upgrades to Watercycle’s pilot facility as the company continues development of a larger-scale recycling system. The project is intended to move the technology toward commercial deployment and increase the domestic availability of recycled battery materials for the automotive sector.

Ian Constance, Chief Executive of the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK, said the DRIVE35 programme is intended to strengthen the UK’s ability to develop and manufacture technologies for future vehicles by bringing together industry, government and academia.

Source: Watercycle Technologies

SUNSHINE Spotlight: Watercycle Technologies’ £2 million CAMCYCLE project aims to shorten the route from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries to recycled cathode materials and retain more recovered critical minerals within the UK battery supply chain.