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The decision reflects capital allocation constraints and the need to adapt expenditure to what can reasonably be financed under current market conditions, the company said.
While development work at the UK project will be paused, Imerys stressed that the strategic and economic value of the asset remains intact. The company highlighted the successful completion of a recent scoping study and described commissioning progress to date as evidence of the project’s underlying potential.
“This is difficult news for the team and for our local partners who have supported the project in its development journey,” Mark Hewson, who leads Imerys’ UK operations, said. “While the decision to pause for now is sensible in the current challenging business climate, it in no way diminishes the work done so far by the dedicated IBL team.”
Imerys vice president of lithium projects Alan Parte described the move as a necessary response to prevailing headwinds.
“This was a difficult but necessary decision, reflecting the need to adapt capital expenditure to the reality of what the business can reasonably finance,” he said. “This in no way questions the quality of the work carried out by the IBL teams, nor the intrinsic strategic and economic value of the project.”
The decision comes amid persistent uncertainty across Europe’s lithium, electric vehicle (EV) and energy storage system (ESS) markets.
“The decision to pause development at IBL highlights the ongoing challenges and uncertainty in the European lithium – and wider EV and ESS – market,” Fastmarkets senior analyst Robert Searle said.
“With the adjustments to internal combustion engine vehicle sales phase-out and financing remaining hard to come by, it is unlikely that this will be the last delay for European lithium projects. Further government support like the package provided for the company’s Emili project in France will be needed in the coming decade if Europe is to successfully build out a regional lithium supply chain,” Searle said.
Despite a rally in global lithium prices since November 2025 and expectations of a tighter market over the next two years than previously forecast, uncertainty around real demand in the region continues to weigh on project development, Searle added.
“This is particularly the case given the continued lack of investment in cathode active material capacity in Europe,” Searle said.
Imerys said it will continue to monitor market conditions and assess the appropriate timing and circumstances for a potential relaunch, including reviewing the future of the pilot plant. Any restart would depend on improved market dynamics, capital expenditure flexibility and the availability of external financing.
In contrast, Imerys recently secured €50 million ($59 million) in backing from the French state for its Emili lithium project, with the government taking a minority equity stake to support its progression toward a definitive feasibility study – underscoring the differing funding environments facing lithium assets across Europe.
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