The gigafactory will supply battery materials to Umicore’s car and battery cell customers in Europe, and marks an important step in achieving the European Union’s ambition of having its own battery ecosystem that is both sustainable and competitive on a global scale.
“We’re very proud to open Europe’s very first gigafactory for cathode active materials. Umicore’s carbon-neutral facility here in Nysa is a true enabler and accelerator of the e-mobility transformation across the European Union,” said Mathias Miedreich, CEO of Umicore. “With this gigafactory, Umicore is leading the way in battery materials in Europe, offering key ingredients for a responsible and sustainable value chain for electric transport. Its state-of-the-art product and process technologies complement our metals refining and cathode precursor production facility in Finland, as well as our world-class R & D and pioneering battery recycling activities in Belgium. All these elements together underscore how we are a reliable transformation partner for our customers, supporting them locally on their acceleration path towards sustainable electric mobility.”
Nysa’s annual production capacity is set to reach 20 GWh by the end of 2023 and 40 GWh in 2024, with the potential to rise to over 200 GWh, or 3 million electric vehicles, in the second half of the decade. This growth trajectory is part of Umicore’s ambition to reach worldwide capacity of more than 400 GWh by 2030, and overall strategy to establish fully integrated regional battery material value chains on three continents. To this end, Umicore plans to construct a precursor and cathode active materials facility in Canada and expand its existing capacity in Asia.
The plant is fully powered by renewable electricity from a nearby onshore wind farm, enabling Umicore’s carbon-neutral growth ambitions. Construction of the plant began in 2019 and production started in July this year. Currently, Umicore in Nysa employs about 240 people. Their number is expected to increase to 400 by the end of 2023, along with the plant’s future capacity expansion.
