Status: 09/26/2022 3:27 p.m
VW and the Belgian group Umicore want to invest a total of three billion euros in the production of battery materials. The electricity storage should be enough for more than two million electric cars a year.
The Volkswagen subsidiary PowerCo, in which the Wolfsburg group has combined its battery activities, and the Belgian materials technology group Umicore are founding a joint venture to produce battery materials. This should supply the European battery cell factories of PowerCo in Europe from 2025. The investment volume is three billion euros.
According to the plans, the newly founded company will initially supply Volkswagen’s cell production in Salzgitter. In 2026, a capacity of 40 gigawatt hours per year is to be achieved. But this is apparently only an intermediate step. Because by the end of 2030, the partners want to produce cathode and primary material for battery cells with a capacity of 160 gigawatt hours per year. This corresponds to an annual production capacity that is sufficient for around 2.2 million fully electric vehicles. The search for a suitable location is still ongoing.
Access to Capacity Competitive Advantage
The two companies want to share costs, investments, income and profits equally. Umicore is then responsible for operational management and makes intellectual property and know-how available to the joint venture by license.
“Cathode material is an indispensable strategic raw material for battery production, accounting for around 50 percent of the total value of the cell,” emphasized Volkswagen Chief Technology Officer Thomas Schmall. Immediate and long-term access to extensive capacities represents a clear competitive advantage. Together they strive to create a closed value chain: from the procurement of raw materials to the processing of battery material and the recycling of old batteries.
“The most important cost factor of electric vehicles at the moment is the battery,” said PowerCo chief buyer Jörg Teichmann. The battery is therefore also the basis for the success of e-mobility. Together with Umicore, volume is secured at the best price and with the best cost structure. Umicore boss Mathias Miedreich said the joint venture is strategically unique because it is the first all-encompassing supply chain in the field in Europe.