EIB Commits €350 Million to Umicore for EV Battery Materials Innovation and Recycling

EIB Commits €350 Million to Umicore for EV Battery Materials Innovation and Recycling

(IN BRIEF) In a significant move to bolster Europe’s electric vehicle (EV) battery industry, the European Investment Bank (EIB) has entered a €350 million financing agreement with Umicore to support research, development, and innovation (RDI) in rechargeable battery materials technologies. This eight-year loan, signed on the sidelines of the EIB Group Forum in Luxembourg, aims to advance Umicore’s pioneering work across its research centers in Belgium, Finland, Germany, and Poland. Umicore’s expertise in battery materials science and its commitment to a complete battery materials supply chain, including recycling, align with the European Union’s Green Deal ambitions and reinforce Europe’s competitiveness in clean mobility. This investment underscores the EIB’s dedication to fostering strategic net-zero technologies and accelerating Europe’s transition to climate neutrality.

(PRESS RELEASE) LUXEMBOURG,  8-Feb-2024 — /EuropaWire/ — The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Umicore have signed a €350 million financing agreement to support Umicore’s research, development and innovation (RDI) in rechargeable battery materials technologies for electric vehicles (EV) and the recycling of electric vehicle batteries. The eight-year loan, benefitting from competitive financing conditions, will contribute to the development of innovative technologies at Umicore’s research centres in Olen, Hoboken (Belgium), Kokkola (Finland), Hanau (Germany) and Nysa (Poland). It follows a €125 million loan that the EIB had granted to Umicore in 2020 to help finance Europe’s first production facility for cathode active materials for electric vehicles in Poland.

The EIB is committed to supporting the development of Europe’s industrial production capacity across the full value chain of electric vehicle battery production. The loan — signed on the sidelines of the EIB Group Forum in Luxembourg* — is part of the EU bank’s pledge to commit an additional €45 billion in financing to boost European manufacturing in state-of-the-art strategic net-zero technologies.

Umicore’s battery materials technologies, its innovation roadmap and its complete battery materials supply chain (spanning refining, the production of both precursor materials and cathode active materials and their recycling) are key contributors to the transition to cleaner mobility and the European Union’s Green Deal ambitions.

EIB Vice-President Robert de Groot said: “In support of the European Green Deal Industrial Plan, the EIB is dedicated to financing cutting-edge European manufacturing in strategic net-zero technologies. This loan for Umicore’s ambitious research, development and innovation programme highlights the EU bank’s important role in shaping the future of Europe’s battery industry, which is a key area for global competitiveness and a sustainable and decarbonised future.”

“Umicore is proud to have secured the EIB’s support for a second time, this time underscoring our long-standing experience and knowledge in battery materials science and technologies. Our leadership and know-how in battery materials foster Europe’s innovation edge and competitiveness amid the worldwide energy transition. This loan further strengthens our balance sheet via long-term funding at attractive conditions and our innovation power in this high-tech industry,” said Umicore’s Chief Executive Officer Mathias Miedreich.

Umicore’s EV battery materials innovations and technologies serve the entry, mass and premium segments of the car market with technologies ranging from nickel, manganese and cobalt to future high lithium manganese and next-generation solid-state and sodium-ion battery technologies (more info here) Umicore also recycles EV battery materials on an industrial scale in Hoboken, Belgium. In 2022, Umicore invested 316 million euros or 7.6 percent of its revenue in research and development.

The EIB has increased its backing of battery-related projects to more than €1.6 billion of financing in 2023. Over the last five years, projects of this kind financed by the EIB have totalled €2.8 billion.

These operations also contribute to the goals set out in REPowerEU and the Green Deal Industrial Plan, which aim to eliminate Europe’s dependence on fossil-fuel imports and provide support for the home-grown manufacturing capacity in net-zero technologies required for a swift and just transition to climate neutrality.

*Note to editors

• The EIB Group Forum is taking place on 7 and 8 February in Luxembourg. This year’s topic is “European competitiveness in a polarised global context.” (Livestream and replay)
• Umicore CEO Mathias Miedreich will participate in the panel “Competitiveness and innovation in European manufacturing” at 17:25 CET.

Background information

About Umicore

Umicore is a leading circular materials technology group. It focuses on application areas where its expertise in materials science, chemistry and metallurgy makes a real difference. Its activities are organised into three business groups: Catalysis, Energy & Surface Technologies and Recycling. Each business group is divided into market-focused business units offering materials and solutions that are at the cutting edge of new technological developments and essential to everyday life.

Umicore generates the majority of its revenues in and dedicates most of its research and development efforts to clean mobility materials and recycling. Umicore’s overriding goal of sustainable value creation is based on an ambition to develop, produce and recycle materials in a way that fulfils its mission: materials for a better life.

Umicore’s industrial and commercial operations as well as R&D activities are located across the world to best serve its global customer base. The group generated revenues (excluding metal) of €4.2 billion (turnover of € 25.4 billion) in 2022 and currently employs more than 11 000 people.

About the EIB

The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. It finances sound investments that contribute to EU policy objectives. EIB projects bolster competitiveness, drive innovation, promote sustainable development, enhance social and territorial cohesion, and support a just and swift transition to climate neutrality. The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed a total of €88 billion in new financing for over 900 projects in 2023. These commitments are expected to mobilise around €320 billion in investment, supporting 400 000 companies and 5.4 million jobs.

All projects financed by the EIB Group are in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. The EIB Group does not fund investments in fossil fuels. We are on track to deliver on our commitment to support €1 trillion in climate and environmental sustainability investment in the decade to 2030 as pledged in our Climate Bank Roadmap. Over half of the EIB Group’s annual financing supports projects directly contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation, and a healthier environment.

Approximately half of the EIB’s financing within the European Union is directed to cohesion regions, where per capita income is lower. This underscores the Bank’s commitment to fostering inclusive growth and the convergence of living standards.

Media Contact:

Sabine Parisse
s.parisse@eib.org
+352 4379 – 83340

Press Office

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SOURCE: European Investment Bank