Umicore targets global battery leadership with South Korean joint venture
Umicore has unveiled an industrial pilot line for silicon-carbon anodes at its Olen site, marking a significant step towards its re-entry into the electric vehicle battery materials sector.
The company's recently announced partnership with South Korea’s HS Hyosung will anchor large-scale Asian production, with plans for a plant in 2028 that is expected to be forty times larger than the Belgian pilot line. This will position the venture to compete directly with dominant Chinese and rapidly advancing US players.
The anode business will be transferred to a new joint venture called The Extra Mile, in which HS Hyosung will hold an 80 per cent stake and Umicore will hold a 20 per cent stake. However, research and development will remain in Belgium.
According to Umicore's Roderick Lindner, the scale and financial exposure of the project made partnering unavoidable. His division will grow from around sixty to one hundred specialists working on silicon-carbon anode materials for lithium-ion EV batteries. Umicore’s patented process, developed over many years, boosts energy density, extends driving range and shortens charging time.
The shift comes after Umicore scaled back parts of its battery-materials business in favour of recycling and catalysis. This was coupled with a planned reduction in capital expenditure of 1.4 billion euros between 2025 and 2028.
According to South Korean media reports, HS Hyosung will contribute 120 million euros for anode activities and plans to invest almost one billion euros over five years to establish large-scale production near Ulsan, a major hub for the country's battery industry. The site offers the logistical reach and permitting speed - often measured in months rather than years - that Belgium cannot easily match.
Replacing traditional graphite
Umicore’s technology replaces traditional graphite anodes with silicon-enhanced materials. This allows lithium ions to be packed more densely and to move more efficiently between the electrodes. The practical outcome is either a longer range or smaller battery packs for electric vehicles (EVs), as well as faster charging. Regulatory clearance of the agreement between the two companies is expected in the coming months.
Meanwhile, the group's decision on the 400 million euros investment for a new precious metals refining facility in Hoboken remains pending, with a theoretical commissioning date of 2030.
However, the market context is shifting rapidly. According to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), petrol and diesel cars accounted for only 36.6 per cent of new registrations in Europe during the first ten months of the year, down from 46.3 per cent a year earlier. Meanwhile, fully electric vehicles rose to 16.4 per cent of registrations, confirming the accelerating transition that battery-materials producers are racing to supply.
#FlandersNewsService | © BELGA PHOTO YORICK JANSENS
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