BERLIN – Volkswagen Group's PowerCo and materials technology firm Umicore will create a 3 billion euro ($2.9 billion) joint venture that will produce battery precursor and cathode material, likely at Umicore's new plant in Poland.
Umicore will supply PowerCo's European battery cell factories from 2025 onwards, starting at VW's Salzgitter factory, VW said in a statement on Monday.
The venture will target an annual capacity of 40 gigawatt hours in 2026 with the aim of reaching 160 gigawatt hours (GWh) of capacity by the end of the decade.
VW and Umicore will equally share costs, investments and profits in the joint venture.
VW plans to build six battery plants in Europe by 2030 starting with Salzgitter.
There is a "strong industrial logic" to locating production at Umicore's newly inaugurated battery materials plant in Nysa, Poland, Umicore CEO Mathias Miedreich said, adding a decision would be taken "rather quickly."