Umicore supplies cathode material for BMW’s US battery cells

The BMW Group has won the Belgian company Umicore as a further partner for developing a battery supply chain in North America. Umicore will supply cathode active battery materials from a new plant in the Canadian province of Ontario to BMW's battery cell partner AESC.

AESC is setting up a battery cell production facility in Florence County in the US state of South Carolina with an annual capacity of 30 GWh, which will supply BMW with round cells for New Class electric models from 2026. As reported, BMW is preparing its vehicle plant in Spartanburg (South Carolina) to produce the new EVs and is building a battery assembly centre in the nearby town of Woodruff.

Umicore announced its cathode plant in the Canadian province of Ontario in July 2022. Umicore and the Ontario government now provide more details. Umicore has made the final investment decision for the first phase of the cathode materials plant, worth 2.1 billion Canadian dollars (1.46 billion euros) for a production capacity of 35 GWh per year, and will receive up to 975.9 million CAD (678 million euros) in subsidies – up to 551.3 million CAD from the Canadian government and up to 424.6 million CAD from the Ontario provincial government. Phase 1 is expected to create 600 jobs and 700 student co-op positions.

Cathode made from Canadian minerals

Umicore expects to start construction this year. The factory is expected to be operational by the end of 2025 and ramp up production in 2026. It will use “Canadian critical minerals, including nickel, lithium and cobalt, and strengthening Canada’s and Ontario’s domestic EV supply chain and batteries ecosystem,” according to the Ontario provincial announcement. Ontario itself advertises that all critical EV minerals are available in the province.

In its announcement of the triangular deal with AESC and Umicore, BMW stresses that both battery cell production (at AESC in South Carolina) and cathode material production (at Umicore in Ontario) will use only renewable electricity.

“The BMW Group pursues a globally balanced procurement strategy in the three main geographical regions of the world. Our battery cell supplier in the US will source key primary materials from Canada going forward,” says Joachim Post, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Purchasing and Supplier Network. “We are pleased that Canada is playing a strong role in establishing a robust and efficient battery cell supply chain for the BMW Group in North America.”

“Canada has everything it needs to be a global leader in the green economy: access to global markets, a talented workforce, clean energy, world-leading innovation ecosystems and all the critical mineral resources necessary to make EV batteries,” says François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. “This is the reason why Umicore has chosen Canada and Loyalist Township as the place to build its new electric vehicle battery materials plant, one that will produce green battery components.”

bmwgroup.com, ontario.ca (details of Umicore plans)