The UK government has a target of electrifying the UK’s transport network by 2035. Although the take up of electric vehicles (EVs) has increased considerably in the country in recent years, there is still a long way to go.

Data from Zapmap shows that, while there are now over 2.1 million fully electric cars on UK roads, this equates to fewer than seven per cent of the vehicles currently being driven in the country. 

To help further boost the takeup of EVs, and to ensure the UK’s EV industry remains at the cutting edge in the field, the government recently announced a programme of investment in future EV technologies. 

The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade announced that the government will provide £65 million in funding, which will be matched by industry, to help develop a range of zero-emission technologies. 

As well as making EVs cheaper for consumers, the government hopes that this investment will also boost economic growth around the country.

 

What are the EV technologies of the future? 

A range of businesses and consortiums have received funding as part of the DRIVE35 programme rolled out by the government. The kinds of technology they are working on ranges from innovations in EV batteries to components for self-driving cars. 

One of the challenges facing the growing EV industry around the world, not just in the UK, is the availability of chemicals like lithium zirconate that are needed to produce EV batteries. 

Several of the organisations selected for funding under the DRIVE35 programme are exploring ways to secure the country’s supply of essential chemicals or components. 

This includes through:

  • Recycling chemicals from waste streams.
  • Commercial production of lithium from geothermal waters.
  • Developing smaller, more efficient axial flux motors for EVs.

 

Recycling chemicals from used EV batteries

It’s no secret that many vital chemicals, minerals and other resources simply go to waste when the product in which they are used reaches the end of its life.

Given that we only have a finite supply of these resources on the planet, ensuring that we recycle as much as we can will be essential for a sustainable EV industry moving forward. This is where Watercycle Technologies comes in.

The company is exploring how battery-grade lithium can be recovered from a range of waste streams. This includes from industrial wastewater, as well as from materials containing lithium in batteries that have reached the end of their lives. 

One of the reasons Watercycle Technologies is focusing on recycling lithium from sources within the UK is that currently no significant lithium refining takes place in the country, which means businesses are reliant on imported sources of lithium. 

Should this technology prove viable and be scalable, it could therefore mean additional sources of lithium that the UK’s EV companies can access. What’s more, it helps introduce greater circularity of resources into the EV sector. 

 

Commercial production of lithium from geothermal waters

Extracting minerals like lithium from waste materials is only one of the ways in which businesses in the UK are tackling the issue of a shortage of crucial minerals. 

Cornish Lithium, a business based near Truro, is investigating the commercial viability of extracting lithium from geothermal waters that have been identified as being enriched with lithium.

With the £7.2 million in grant funding from the DRIVE35 programme, the organisation plans to carry out further exploratory drilling at its site and set up a direct lithium extraction (DLE) demonstration plant.

As well as exploring lithium extraction, the company will also be looking at how to use the geothermal heat from its location to provide heating to local homes.

 

Developing smaller, more efficient axial flux motors for EVs

Several projects that focus on the creation of more efficient EV components have also received funding through the DRIVE35 programme. Among them is Avid – Turntide Technologies’ project to improve axial flux motors.

There is a rising demand globally, as well as within the UK, for powertrains that offer higher performance and greater efficiency. 

Most EVs currently have radial flux motors. However, axial flux motors are lighter weight, smaller and have the ability to deliver more power. Manufacturing challenges have held back their introduction so far, but this is the issue Avid – Turntide Technologies wants to tackle.

The company’s focus is on making the production of the components needed for axial flux motors more efficient, largely by automating labour-intensive processes. 

If they are successful, their motors could help power the EVs of the future and help the UK’s EV sector stay at the forefront.