The newly founded Brussels-based European EV battery materials producer IONWAY has chosen to build its first CAM production plant in Nysa, Poland, adjacent to Umicore’s existing CAM plant. The JV, backed by Umicore and Volkswagen Group-owned PowerCo, is scaling up the EU footprint in the e-mobility business with the ambition to grow its annual production capacity to 160 GWh by the end of the decade, corresponding to 2.2 million battery-electric vehicles, based on market developments. IONWAY will thus help the European Union achieve its Green Deal ambitions by accelerating the establishment of regional, sustainable, and transparent battery value chains.
“We are excited with today’s announcement, as it marks the operational first step of IONWAY and an important step in the expansion of Umicore’s European local-for-local integrated battery materials value chain,” commented Mathias Miedreich, CEO, Umicore.
Preparation of the site, engineering and permitting are ongoing and construction will start soonest once the permitting process is completed. Production of the plant is expected to begin as soon as construction is completed, while PowerCo´s CAM demand for the Salzgitter cell gigafactory is secured from the existing production capacity of Umicore in Nysa in time for its start of production in 2025.
The press release stated that IONWAY’s choice for Nysa and Poland is based on their strategic location with access to renewable energy sources to power the plant’s production as well as a skilled workforce, and follows the support from the Polish government. Moreover, the production facility will benefit from Umicore’s nearby CAM knowhow in Nysa and easy access to raw materials from Umicore’s refining operations in Finland.
