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Cornwall’s British Lithium has applied for two more patents following extensive research and development as it prepares to make its pilot processing plant active.

Coming less than two months after the company filed its first patent, the latest applications are part of an innovative hydro-metallurgical process that uses salt, rather than acid, to extract lithium, the key ingredient in making electric vehicle batteries.

British Lithium is based in the St Austell area of Cornwall and all three inventions are the result of six years’ intensive project work to sustainably extract lithium from the mica in granite.

Four rounds of drilling have been completed, a unique on-site laboratory set up and an official inferred mineral resource declared.

With the help of £3m Innovate º£½ÇÊÓƵ funding, the company is also building a pilot plant where the lithium will be recovered and processed using recyclable salt as a reagent, rather than toxic chemicals.

The pilot plant is currently in the early stages of construction and is scheduled to become operational in the last quarter of this year. As British Lithium’s head of metallurgy, Dr Klaas Peter van der Wielen has led on the ground-breaking approach.

“Our research and development strategy is focused on finding effective acid-free solutions to extracting and processing lithium,” he said. “The methods we use minimise waste and help protect the environment.”

Chartered patent attorney Kate Butler and her team from Sirius Intellectual Property have been helping British Lithium with its patent applications and the work has been funded by Innovate º£½ÇÊÓƵ Edge.