Umicore Battery Materials Poland Sp. z o.o.
Umicore Battery Materials Poland Sp. z o.o., headquartered in Radzikowice (no. 1C, Nysa municipality), is the Polish company of the Belgian Umicore Group, which describes itself as a materials technology and recycling company with a history of more than 200 years; its sole shareholder is Umicore Battery Materials SA. The company has been registered in the Polish National Court Register under KRS 0000739966 since 2018, and according to the register its main activity is the manufacture of other inorganic basic chemicals. Construction of the plant began in 2019, production started in July 2022, and the group presented the opening on 21 September 2022 as the launch of Europe’s first battery materials gigafactory.
The plant produces cathode materials – key components of lithium-ion batteries that determine their performance – based on nickel, cobalt, lithium and manganese; they are supplied to battery cell makers for electric vehicles. At the opening the group announced a capacity of 20 GWh a year by the end of 2023 and 40 GWh in 2024, with employment for around 400 people. According to the group, the plant runs entirely on energy from the Pągów wind farm; as an upper-tier (SEVESO) establishment it is subject to regular inspections and has a tested emergency plan. The plant complements the group’s European value chain, which includes metal refining and precursor production in Finland and an R&D centre and battery recycling in Belgium.
The Umicore Group presented the opening of the Radzikowice plant as the creation of a complete supply chain and closed loop for battery materials in Europe; the group is active in battery recycling and precious metals refining. The company’s registered scope also includes the manufacture of batteries and accumulators, powder metallurgy and the collection of hazardous waste. In Poland the group also runs an automotive catalyst plant in Nowa Ruda (Umicore Autocat Poland Sp. z o.o.). As an IGMNiR member, Umicore Battery Materials Poland represents the processing of nickel, cobalt, lithium and manganese into materials for electric vehicle batteries.