Cornish Lithium has received a landmark $67m investment from a group of leading institutional investors led by the UK Infrastructure Bank alongside The Energy & Minerals Group (EMG) and TechMet.
Cornish Lithium’s largest existing institutional shareholder, TechMet, the critical minerals investment company, is investing a further $7m, bringing its total investment into Cornish Lithium to $30m.
Moreover, the UK Infrastructure Bank will invest approximately £24m ($30m) into developing the UK’s critical minerals supply chain with EMG, a US-based private equity fund focused on the energy and minerals sectors.
Councillor Louis Gardner, Economy Portfolio Holder at the Cornwall Council Cabinet, commented: “It’s exciting to see this investment into Cornish Lithium and Cornwall’s critical minerals sector more generally. We know that minerals such as lithium are vital in the transition to a low carbon economy and can potentially create high-value jobs in the region.”
Creating a domestic supply of battery-grade lithium
The funding is expected to significantly accelerate progress toward creating a domestic supply of battery-grade lithium compounds.
This is crucial to support the scaling up of domestic battery production for electric vehicles and battery energy storage solutions for renewable energy sources.
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Grant Shapps said: “Today’s investment in Cornish Lithium is a strong vote of confidence in the South West’s future at the cutting edge of electric vehicle technologies.”
The funding for Cornish Lithium is part of a larger funding package, which is expected to provide the equity foundation necessary for the pioneering mineral exploration and development company to achieve commercial production.
Cornish Lithium: Boosting economic growth
This investment signals a significant boost for Cornwall. It aligns closely with the Bank’s core mandate to support the UK’s transition to net zero and boost regional and local economic growth.
It also aims to enable the county’s development as an industrial cluster for lithium extraction and will strengthen the move to net zero in line with Cornwall’s local industrial strategy.
Once in commercial production, Cornish Lithium will build its 70-strong Cornwall-based workforce to over 300.
Through its Trelavour hard rock mine development alone, it is estimated that Cornish Lithium could generate £800m of economic activity for the local economy over the expected 20-year mine life. This figure is expected to increase further through the development of the company’s Geothermal Waters project portfolio.
After closing this initial investment round, Cornish Lithium will also invest in a further retail share offering through Crowdcube (Retail Offer). The offer will be for up to £6.9m and will prioritise its existing shareholders, with further details due to be announced in due course.
“Cornish Lithium has achieved its objective of defining world-class opportunities for lithium extraction in Cornwall from both lithium-enriched geothermal waters and hard rock,” said Jeremy Wrathall, founder and CEO of Cornish Lithium.
He concluded: “It was, therefore, essential to secure funding from institutional investors with the financial muscle to bring our projects into commercial production. We are delighted to have secured investment from the UK Infrastructure Bank alongside EMG, as well as our much-valued partner TechMet.”
