
Planning submitted for Weardale Lithium green energy facility

April 2024
Group Ginger have designed three sites as a part of the planning application; an 580m2 processing plant and two bore holes. The overall architectural design is a contemporary interpretation of the proud mining heritage of Weardale and wider County Durham.
The brownfield processing plant is unashamedly contemporary, signifying the pioneering aspect of this new clean technology. An exercise in circular economy thinking and regenerative design, it re-purposes 35 acres of degraded post-industrial landscape formerly used as a cement works. By making use of existing infrastructure including an electricity substation and main highway access, the project saves tonnes of embodied carbon.
Group Ginger have rejected the standard “agricultural shed” typology to create a long-life loose-fit building integrated with the landscape; which has the flexibility to adapt in line with changes in the emerging field of mineral extraction processing. The 580 m2 facility co-locates offices, welfare and laboratory spaces, together with the processing facilities, under one unified roof.
Initially, it is estimated the development plan will create 20 to 50 on site jobs plus additional employment within the local construction sector and supply chains. Scaling up to full commercial production, over the next 4 years, could produce approximately 10,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate per year, creating around 125 jobs and generating an estimated £1bn of gross economic value for the North East region.