Umicore in further battery deal

Following on from other recent announcements in the field, Umicore has announced a 5-50, €3 billion joint venture to supply precursor and cathode material production to the European battery cell factories of PowerCo, the Volkswagen Group’s battery company. No site has yet been chosen.

This will begin in 2025 by supplying PowerCo’s factory in Salzgitter. They aim to reach 40 GWh cell/year capacity in 2026 and to quadruple that to 160 by 2030, depending on market and demand development. This would be equivalent to what is needed to power about 2.2 million full electric vehicles.

The two will also collaborate on the sustainable and responsible sourcing of raw materials, an area in which Umicore claims to be an industry leader. In addition, Umicore will provide refining services to PowerCo and both partners late aim to include elements of refining and battery recycling based on Umicore’s technology and know-how into the scope of the JV via a licence agreement.

Umicore said that this will give it “secured access, through firm take-or-pay commitments, to an important part of the European demand for EV cathode materials at guaranteed value-creative returns”, while also giving PowerCo “secure and cost-competitive access” to its materials.