Finance deal secures future of Widnes battery recycling plant
Ecoshred UK has bought its two-acre Widnes industrial site after securing a six-figure finance deal, with the battery recycling business now planning further growth and new jobs.
By Runcorn & Widnes World
A six-figure finance deal has enabled a Widnes battery recycling company to buy the industrial site housing its specialist facility, securing its long-term future and supporting plans for further growth.
Ecoshred UK has acquired its two-acre complex at Teal Business Park after Bathgate Business Finance arranged a commercial mortgage through HSBC.
The deal means the company now owns the site from which it operates its specialist lithium-ion battery recycling activities.
Ecoshred believes purchasing the property will provide greater security for the operation while giving the business a foundation for further investment and expansion.
The company expects growth at the Widnes facility to create between five and ten additional jobs during the next two years.
It also anticipates creating at least five postgraduate positions in collaboration with the University of Leicester.
Bathgate Business Finance worked with Ecoshred directors Ben Dawbarn and Anthony Hulmes to arrange the 25-year commercial mortgage.
Ecoshred has been operating for more than 15 years, initially specialising in confidential waste and document shredding.
The business subsequently expanded into IT and electronic equipment recycling before becoming increasingly involved in lithium-ion battery recycling.
Its work now forms part of wider efforts to develop a domestic UK supply chain capable of recovering valuable materials from used batteries.
Ecoshred leads the REBLEND project, which has brought together businesses and universities to develop processes for recovering valuable materials from production scrap and end-of-life automotive and consumer batteries.
Partners have included the universities of Leicester and Birmingham alongside a number of specialist UK companies.
The project has received support through the Faraday Battery Challenge, the government-backed programme designed to develop Britain’s battery technology and manufacturing capabilities.
Research has focused on recovering materials from used lithium-ion batteries so they can potentially be returned to battery manufacturing rather than being lost from the supply chain.
The work is particularly relevant as electric vehicle adoption increases demand for lithium, nickel, cobalt and other materials used in battery production.
Researchers at the University of Leicester have also been working with Ecoshred on technology to scale up the direct recycling of lithium-ion battery materials.
Recent Faraday Institution reporting said follow-on UKRI funding was awarded to work with Ecoshred on scaling a process from laboratory batches towards continuous production capable of handling tens of kilograms per hour.
Securing ownership of the Widnes site gives the company greater control over the facility as that work develops.
For the local economy, the investment also provides longer-term security for an advanced recycling operation in Widnes while creating the prospect of additional skilled employment.
The deal brings together property investment, manufacturing technology and battery recycling at a time when the UK is seeking to strengthen domestic supply chains for materials required by electric vehicles and energy storage.