PowerCo And Umicore Establish Joint Business For The Production Of EV Battery Materials In Europe

VW and Umicore announced the establishment of a joint venture for EV battery production in Europe (photo: VW)

JAKARTA - PowerCo, a new battery company owned by Volkswagen Group and Umicore, a Belgian circular material technology group announced the establishment of a joint venture for the production of precursor and cathode materials in Europe.

Starting in 2025 and beyond, this joint venture will supply key materials to European battery cell factories PowerCo.

Then at the end of this decade, partners aim to produce cathode and precursor materials for a cell capacity of 160 GWh per year, comparable to the annual production capacity capable of powering around 2.2 million full electric vehicles.

"Ca cathode is a very necessary strategic resource for battery production, accounting for about fifty percent of the overall cell value," Thomas Schmall, Member of the Group Council for Technology at Volkswagen AG and Chairman of the PowerCo SE Supervisory Board said in a press release.

Securing 🔋 materials for 2.2 million EVs! @UmicoreGroup & our battery company #PowerCo signed a JV for the large-scale production of key 🔋 materials in Europe. Facts:📈 Investing € 3 billion into new materials production capacities⏩ Supplying our #gigafactories from 2025 pic.twitter.com/5xbc5iDwzm

— Volkswagen Group (@VWGroup) September 26, 2022

According to him, direct and long-term access to broad capacity is a very clear competitive advantage.

Cathode active materials are essential for a successful powertrain transition to e-mobility as they are the main tech levers for battery performance, as well as the largest single contributors to overall battery costs.

Berdasarkan ketentuan tambahan, Umicore dan PowerCo akan berkolaborasi dalam pengadaan bahan baku yang berkelanjutan dan bertanggung jawab, area di mana Umicorer adalah pemimpin industri.

Furthermore, Umicore will also provide refining services for PowerCo. Furthermore, based on Umicore's technology and knowledge, the two partners aim to incorporate refining and recycling elements of the battery into the JV scope.

"This partnership is a sign of strong acknowledgment of our product expertise and processes and proof of the success of our strategy to build a chain of value of sustainable industrial-scale closed loop battery material in key regions," said Umicore CEO Mathias Miedreich.

Production at JV is scheduled to start in 2025 to supply the Salzgitter PowerCo plant, reaching an annual capacity of 40 GWh by 2026.

Both partners are targeting to increase JV's annual production capacity to 160 GWh by the end of the decade, by market and demand developments.

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