Cornish Lithium
Cornish Lithium is a UK mineral development company extracting lithium from Cornish granite and geothermal brines to produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate for domestic automotive OEMs and battery gigafactories.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersPenryn, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Cornish Lithium does
Cornish Lithium PLC is a privately held UK mineral exploration and development company, founded in 2016 by Jeremy Wrathall and headquartered in Penryn, Cornwall. The company is pioneering the dual-track extraction of lithium from both hard-rock (granite) sources and geothermal brines in the Cornubian Batholith, with the aim of establishing the first domestic UK supply of battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM) for electric vehicles, consumer electronics, and grid-scale energy storage. Its flagship Trelavour Lithium Project repurposes a former china-clay pit near St Austell to produce LHM from granite; the demonstration plant commenced production in October 2025, marking the UK's first commercial-grade domestic lithium output. A parallel geothermal programme covers six sites — Cross Lanes, Blackwater, Tolgus, Besore, Copper House, and Baldhu — using direct lithium extraction (DLE) technologies, including a Fraunhofer ISE DLE demonstrator deployed under the EU M-BAT Horizon programme.
The company operates a pre-commercial business model intended to monetise LHM sales under long-term offtake agreements with UK and European automotive OEMs, battery gigafactories, and electronics manufacturers, with direct enterprise sales as the primary distribution channel. Go-to-market is a hybrid business-to-business and business-to-government motion anchored in securing UK regulatory approvals, planning permissions, and strategic government backing aligned with the UK's 50,000-tonne 2035 domestic lithium target. Cornish Lithium has raised approximately £53.6 million in equity to date, including £35 million led by the UK government-backed National Wealth Fund in October 2025 and £18 million from TechMet, plus £5.1 million in 2023 Crowdcube crowdfunding and a £2.3 million Advanced Propulsion Centre UK grant. The full-scale Trelavour facility is targeted for commercial production by 2029, with a stated target output of 10,000 tonnes of battery-grade LHM annually.
Cornish Lithium firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cornish Lithium
- Legal name
- Cornish Lithium PLC
- Website
- https://cornishlithium.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Cornish Lithium is a UK mineral development company extracting lithium from Cornish granite and geothermal brines to produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate for domestic automotive OEMs and battery gigafactories.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cornish Lithium industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Lithium Raw Materials
- NAICS
- Battery Manufacturing (33591)
- SIC
- Metal Mining (1000), Industrial Inorganic Chemicals (2810)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Lithium Mining & Brine Extraction (IMAKAFAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Battery-Grade Chemical Processing (LiOH/Li2CO3, Ni/Co Sulfates, Mn Sulfate) (IMAKAFAI), Battery Raw Materials Mining & Refining (Lithium, Nickel, Cobalt, Manganese, Graphite) (EUAFABAA)
Keywords
Where Cornish Lithium is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Penryn
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices4 records
Markets served
Cornish Lithium business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Lithium Product Sales: Cornish Lithium is a pre-commercial mining company. Revenue will derive from the sale of lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM) produced at its processing facilities to automotive OEMs, battery manufacturers, and gigafactories under long-term offtake agreements.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Cornish Lithium product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cornish Lithium is a UK-based mineral exploration and development company focused on extracting lithium from hard rock (granite in former china clay pits) and from geothermal brines in Cornwall. The company processes extracted lithium into battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM) for sale to automotive OEMs, battery manufacturers, and gigafactories. Its flagship Trelavour Demonstration Plant began producing LHM in October 2025, marking the first UK domestic production of this material.
Product overview
Cornish Lithium operates two parallel lithium extraction tracks: hard rock extraction at the Trelavour Lithium Project (producing lithium hydroxide monohydrate from granite) and geothermal lithium extraction from geothermal waters across multiple sites (Cross Lanes, Blackwater, Tolgus, Besore, Copper House, Baldhu). The company is developing commercial-scale production capacity targeting 10,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium hydroxide annually by 2030, with a demonstration plant already producing LHM as of October 2025.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Trelavour Lithium Project Hard rock lithium extraction project repurposing a former china-clay pit near St Austell to produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM). This is the company's flagship project targeting commercial production by 2029, with an initial target of 8,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide annually.
- Cross Lanes Geothermal Lithium Project Geothermal lithium extraction project near Truro, Cornwall, pumping lithium-bearing brine from deep geothermal sources and processing it through direct lithium extraction (DLE) systems before returning water underground.
- Copper House Project Exploration and extraction of lithium from geothermal brine at Burncoose near Redruth, with planning permission secured from Cornwall Council's Mineral Planning Authority. The first phase involves drilling two exploration boreholes to approximately 2,000 metres depth.
- Lithium Hydroxide Monohydrate (LHM) Battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate produced at the Trelavour Demonstration Plant, intended for sale to automotive OEMs, battery manufacturers, and gigafactories under long-term offtake agreements. Targets 10,000 tonnes annual production capacity once fully operational.
Quantifiable outcome
- UK target to produce 10% of its critical minerals domestically by 2035
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Cornish Lithium
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Cornish Lithium technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Cornish Lithium partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, minor and core.
- Fraunhofer ISEflagshipFraunhofer ISE is deploying a direct lithium extraction (DLE) demonstrator at Cornish Lithium's geothermal power plant site as part of the M-BAT Horizon Europe-funded initiative. The project involves 18 partners from seven countries developing advanced processes for recovering lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, and graphite from various sources including geothermal brines.
- Sean Carr Lining Technology (SCLT)minorWelsh company SCLT completed specialist lagoon liner installation work at the Cross Lanes Geothermal Lithium Project, constructing a lined lagoon to temporarily store water extracted during drilling operations.
- Environment AgencycoreUK government appointed Environment Agency as Lead Environmental Regulator for the Trelavour Lithium Project as part of a pilot programme to streamline regulatory approval for major growth projects.
Scale indicators14 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Cornish Lithium competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Vulcan Energy Resources: Vulcan Energy Resources is a German-Australian company developing geothermal lithium extraction in the Upper Rhine Valley, using DLE to produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide. It is the closest direct peer to Cornish Lithium, sharing the geothermal-brine DLE approach, target LHM product, and European OEM offtake focus.
- Liontown Resources: Liontown Resources is an Australian hard rock lithium developer advancing the Kathleen Valley project to commercial production. It is comparable to Cornish Lithium as a hard rock lithium developer targeting battery-grade lithium offtake with automotive OEMs.
- European Lithium: European Lithium is developing the Wolfsberg hard rock lithium project in Austria, targeting battery-grade lithium hydroxide production. It is a direct European peer in the hard rock lithium space and faces a comparable regulatory and offtake environment to Cornish Lithium.
- Savannah Resources: Savannah Resources is developing the Barroso lithium project in northern Portugal, one of Europe's most advanced hard rock spodumene projects. It is a direct European peer targeting the same battery-grade lithium offtake market as Cornish Lithium.
- Lake Resources: Lake Resources is an Australian developer of the Kachi lithium brine project using direct lithium extraction technology. It is comparable to Cornish Lithium as a DLE-based lithium developer targeting battery-grade lithium chemicals.
- Zinnwald Lithium: Zinnwald Lithium is developing a hard rock lithium project in Saxony, Germany, targeting battery-grade lithium chemicals for the European EV supply chain. It is comparable to Cornish Lithium as a European hard rock lithium developer focused on domestic European supply.
- Infinity Lithium / Infinity Minerals: Infinity Lithium (now re-focused as Infinity Minerals) is developing the San José lithium hard rock project in Spain, targeting battery-grade lithium hydroxide for European OEMs. It is a direct European peer with a similar domestic supply thesis.
Broad incumbents
- Albemarle Corporation: Albemarle is the world's largest dedicated lithium producer, operating hard rock, brine, and conversion assets globally. It is a broad incumbent comparable as a fully integrated battery-grade lithium hydroxide supplier that Cornish Lithium's offtake strategy will compete against.
- SQM (Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile): SQM is one of the world's largest lithium chemicals producers, extracting from the Salar de Atacama in Chile. It is a broad incumbent peer and a key incumbent supplier to global battery manufacturers that Cornish Lithium aims to displace in European supply chains.
Regional players
- Cornish Metals: Cornish Metals is a UK-listed mineral developer focused on tin and copper at the South Crofty mine in Cornwall. It is comparable as a fellow Cornwall-based critical minerals developer, sharing infrastructure, regulatory, and community context with Cornish Lithium.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Cornish Lithium social profiles
Digital presenceCornish Lithium financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cornish Lithium leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Cornish Lithium funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds10 records
Investors6 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cornish Lithium M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cornish Lithium
What does Cornish Lithium do?
Cornish Lithium is a UK-based mineral exploration and development company focused on extracting lithium from hard rock (granite in former china clay pits) and from geothermal brines in Cornwall. The company processes extracted lithium into battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM) for sale to automotive OEMs, battery manufacturers, and gigafactories. Its flagship Trelavour Demonstration Plant began producing LHM in October 2025, marking the first UK domestic production of this material.
Is Cornish Lithium a public or private company?
Cornish Lithium is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Cornish Lithium founded?
Cornish Lithium was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Cornish Lithium based?
Cornish Lithium is headquartered in Penryn, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Cornish Lithium make money?
One revenue line is on record: lithium Product Sales.
Who are Cornish Lithium's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Vulcan Energy Resources, Liontown Resources, European Lithium, Savannah Resources, Lake Resources, Zinnwald Lithium and Infinity Lithium / Infinity Minerals. Broad incumbents are Albemarle Corporation and SQM (Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile). Cornish Metals is listed as a regional player.
Does Cornish Lithium have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cornish Lithium.
What industry is Cornish Lithium in?
Cornish Lithium's product category is Lithium Raw Materials. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAKAFAA, Lithium Mining & Brine Extraction, with a secondary code of IMAKAFAI, Battery-Grade Chemical Processing (LiOH/Li2CO3, Ni/Co Sulfates, Mn Sulfate). Its NAICS code is 33591 and its SIC code is 1000.