University of South Wales and Dragon Recycling Solutions Limited KTP 24 25 R1

A recycling plant in South Wales is now recovering valuable metals from old batteries without using any harsh chemicals. The plant, run by Dragon Recycling Solutions Ltd, processes battery cells to extract critical raw materials like lithium, cobalt, and nickel—substances essential for making new batteries and electronics. Currently, the challenge is that recycling these materials profitably while maintaining high purity levels is difficult, especially without toxic solvents. This project, a Knowledge Transfer Partnership with the University of South Wales, aims to fine-tune the plant’s sorting and purification methods to maximise both the quality and quantity of recovered materials. If successful, the plant will become a Centre of Excellence for sustainable battery recycling, reducing the UK’s reliance on imported raw materials and cutting the environmental damage from mining. Most people never think about where battery metals come from, but this work quietly strengthens the supply chains that keep electric vehicles, laptops, and medical devices running. The research is applied and commercial—it directly targets a real-world industrial process, not fundamental science.