Umicore Confirms Gigafactory Opening For EV Battery Recharge In Poland

JAKARTA - Some time ago, Umicore, a Belgian mining company, inaugurated a carbon-neutral production facility for cathode active materials for electric vehicles in Nysa, Poland.

This inauguration makes Umicore the first company in Europe with a complete and sustainable circular battery value chain.

Gigafactory will supply battery materials to cars and customers of Umicore battery cells in Europe and mark an important step in achieving EU ambitions to have its own sustainable and competitive battery ecosystem on a global scale.

We officially opened our Gigafactory for rechargeable battery materials in Nysa, Poland. If you’ve missed it, don’t worry, here is a quick recap with some of the key highlights. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did! #UmicoreNysa #ProudToBeUmicore #2030RISE pic.twitter.com/DL7VFxK2gd

— Umicore (@UmicoreGroup) September 23, 2022

"We are very proud to open the first gigafactory in Europe for cathode active materials," said Mathias Miedreich, CEO of Umicore in its official announcement.

According to Miedreich, the Umicore carbon neutral facility in Nysa is the true driver and accelerator of the transformation of e-mobility throughout the European Union.

With this gigafactory, Umicore is leading battery material in Europe that offers key materials for a responsible and sustainable value chain for electric transportation, he said further.

The facilities at Nysa are equipped with advanced product and processing technology equipped with metal refining and Umicore cathode precursor in Finland as well as world-class R&D and their pioneering battery recycling activities in Belgium.

"All of these elements work together, underlining how we are a reliable transformational partner for our customers, supporting them locally on their acceleration path to sustainable electric mobility," he said.

Nysa's annual production capacity will reach 20 GWh by the end of 2023 and 40 GWh by 2024, with the potential to increase to more than 200 GWh, or 3 million electric vehicles, in the second half of the decade.

This growth is part of Umicore's ambition to reach more than 400 GWh worldwide by 2030, and a strategy to build a fully integrated regional battery chain across three continents.

"For this purpose, Umicore plans to build precursor and cathode active material facilities in Canada and expand the capacity in Asia," the CEO said when talking about his ambitions.

The construction of the factory has started since 2019, and production has also started in July this year.

Currently, Umicore in Nysa employs about 240 people. Along with the expansion of factory capacity in the future, the number of employees is expected to increase to 400 by the end of 2023.