EIB and Umicore sign €350M deal for RDI in electric vehicle battery materials

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 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.