A Wolverhampton-based lithium-ion battery recycling company that processes used batteries from electric vehicles, e-bikes, phones, laptops and industrial equipment into valuable battery metals.
Recyclus Group deals with a problem that is growing fast: what to do with lithium-ion batteries when they come to the end of their lives. These are the batteries in electric cars, e-bikes, phones, laptops, forklifts and even trains. Recyclus receives spent batteries in special steel containers called LiBoxes, feeds them through its processing plant in Wolverhampton, and produces black mass, a powder rich in metals such as lithium, cobalt and nickel, which can be refined and put back into the battery supply chain. The company also reported pilot projects on recycling vapes with a local authority.
The company says it wants to tackle the growing problem of discarded batteries, which many firms currently store in containers because they cannot find a recycler and cannot send them to landfill. It also aims to help the battery supply chain grow sustainably, and says it believes it could supply up to a fifth of the UK's battery rare-metal needs from recycling. Co-founder and director Robin Brundle said Wolverhampton will remain its headquarters for its lithium-ion operation, and the other co-founder is named as Alex Stanbury. The company owns the intellectual property for its own process and plant.
The Wolverhampton site is on Lincoln Street, and the Environment Agency gave final clearance for full operation in 2023 and approved status as an Approved Battery Treatment Operator. The permit allows up to 22,000 tonnes of batteries to be processed a year, with an initial plan of 8,300 tonnes. Recyclus described Wolverhampton as the first of five automated plants it planned around the UK, plus a lead-acid battery operation planned in Tipton, and a mobile recycling truck developed with the University of Birmingham. Those are plans reported in 2023 and not all of them have been confirmed.
At the time of the local news report, the company had created 14 jobs and expected more as the plant moved beyond a single shift. We found no culture or values page, so we cannot describe the working atmosphere, only that it is a small, growing company. Its work is shaped by safety and regulation, because used lithium-ion batteries can be hazardous, and it monitors emissions during commissioning before increasing processing hours. Haulage partner Slicker Recycling of Stourport supplies trucks for collection.
People in a business like this include plant operators and shift supervisors, mechanical and electrical maintenance engineers, chemists and process engineers who check the quality of the black mass, health, safety and environmental managers, drivers and logistics planners, and sales staff who work with car makers, battery makers and local authorities. Engineering, chemistry, environmental science and logistics are all useful subjects, and a Black Country site gives people in the West Midlands a green-technology employer close to home.
Website: recyclusgroup.com
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