UK net-zero drive boosted as new EV battery alliance wins funding

Welcome to Net Zero News, where we bring you the latest developments driving the UK’s transition to a net-zero future. Net Zero News can reveal that a new industry group has been established to accelerate a circular economy for batteries and strengthen domestic supply chains.

In a significant step towards the UK’s net-zero goals, recell.store and Altilium have joined forces to launch the 4R Battery Alliance. Chaired by Tom Rumboll, principal of TR Advisory Ltd, the group will convene manufacturers, recyclers, remanufacturers and policymakers around the principles of repair, remanufacture, repurpose and recycle. The alliance officially formed in London this October, with its inaugural meeting hosted at Innovate UK’s offices.

The 4R Battery Alliance aims to address critical bottlenecks in end-of-life battery management and reuse. Members will collaborate on shared diagnostics protocols, standardised module designs and second-life applications for electric vehicle (EV) batteries. Net Zero News understands this forms part of the government’s broader ambition to recycle 95 percent of battery materials by 2035, as outlined in the UK Battery Strategy.

Recell.store, a specialist in commercial second-life battery systems, brings expertise in repurposing EV modules for energy storage, while Altilium, a cell-to-pack integrator, offers manufacturing know-how and quality assurance standards. Alongside them, major automotive OEMs, battery pack assemblers and leading recycling firms will work under Rumboll’s stewardship to overcome technological and regulatory hurdles.

This matters for the UK’s clean energy transition because battery production and disposal currently represent significant sources of embodied carbon and resource dependency. By maximising battery lifecycle value, the alliance expects to reduce CO₂ emissions by tens of thousands of tonnes annually. It also aims to safeguard critical minerals supply, reduce reliance on overseas processing and generate high-skilled jobs in decommissioning and remanufacturing hubs.

Net Zero News has reported on similar initiatives, such as the UK Battery Recycling Hub pilot in Northumberland (https://news.net-zeroclub.co.uk/2025/09/18/uk-battery-recycling-hub), which demonstrated the technical feasibility of closed-loop cathode recovery. The 4R Battery Alliance will build on that work, scaling up modular repacking trials and exploring repurposed units for grid stabilisation.

Seed funding for the alliance has been committed by founding members, totalling £12 million over the next 18 months. Additional support is anticipated from the Department for Business and Trade’s Clean Growth Fund and Innovate UK, which have both expressed interest in co-funding targeted R&D projects under the Faraday Battery Challenge.

Key partners include the Energy Saving Trust, several regional enterprise partnerships and academic institutions such as the Faraday Institution. Net Zero News understands that early collaboration workshops will take place in Sheffield and Sunderland, leveraging existing EV manufacturing clusters to pilot the alliance’s 4R road map.

The formation of the 4R Battery Alliance aligns with the UK’s wider circular economy ambitions, the Net Zero Strategy and the British Energy Security Strategy. By embedding principles of material efficiency and design for disassembly, the alliance supports the government’s ambition to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, while meeting interim carbon budgets.

Communities near manufacturing and recycling sites stand to benefit from new employment opportunities and skills development programmes. Local authorities involved in the alliance are exploring certification schemes for technicians specialising in battery repair and repurposing, ensuring that regional supply chains remain resilient and future-ready.

Technical challenges remain, particularly around harmonising cell chemistries and establishing uniform testing regimes. To address this, the alliance will partner with the University of Manchester’s Electrochemical Innovation Centre, where a recent battery diagnostics breakthrough was reported (https://news.net-zeroclub.co.uk/2025/10/12/battery-testing-breakthrough). The first public update on progress will be shared at the Net Zero Scotland Projects Conference (https://www.net-zero.scot/private-sector-register) in November.

Looking ahead, the 4R Battery Alliance will publish its initial roadmap in Q1 2026, setting out priorities for standardisation, pilot demonstrations and policy recommendations. Subsequent phases will focus on commercial-scale roll-out and integration with national recycling infrastructure.

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