EV Metals Group acquires UK battery materials business

British multinational speciality chemicals and sustainable technologies company Johnson Matthey has entered into an agreement for the sale of part of its battery materials business to Australian group EV Metals, a global battery chemicals and technology business.

The battery materials business will be sold for £50 million in cash, and Johnson Matthey will receive a minority equity stake in EV Metals.

The sale includes Johnson Matthey’s assets at the Battery Technology Centre in Oxford and Battery Technology Centre and pilot plant in Billingham, a research centre in Germany, and the partly constructed site in Poland.

The sale also includes technology behind eLNO, a substance made from nickel, cobalt and lithium that Johnson Matthey believes could transform the EV industry by increasing the range and reducing the cost of batteries.

EV Metals will continue the development of the eLNO technology which is supported by GEMX and CAM-7 cathode platforms licensed by CAMX that harness the unique properties of nickel-rich compounds to deliver high-energy density with high-power capability.

The purchase will complete EV Metals’ product offering, which includes a nickel-cobalt deposit in Western Australia, and nickel and lithium refining in Saudi Arabia. By adding the Johnson Matthey unit, it will be able to supply metals needed to produce cathodes.

“The acquisition of the battery materials business is a strong strategic fit for EV Metals Group,” says Michael Naylor, managing director and CEO of EV Metals Group. “It includes world-class, leading technology for the production of cathode active materials. With our unique upstream, midstream and downstream business model, EV Metals is well-positioned to drive the successful commercialisation of JM’s CAM technology, taking full advantage of the Group’s ‘mine to OEM’ integrated supply chain, which addresses the long-term market challenge of both surety of raw materials and the supply of processed materials.

“EV Metals is committed to protecting all high-value, specialist jobs within JM’s battery materials business and to driving further job creation by building out a UK EV supply chain. We are pleased to welcome the technology team in the UK and Germany who developed the Johnson Matthey battery materials business to the EV Metals team. We look forward to working with them to commercialise cathode active materials technology through the development of cathode active materials plants for electric vehicle and battery cell manufacturers in the UK and Europe, where demand is forecast to significantly outpace supply. We are also pleased to welcome Johnson Matthey as a shareholder of EV Metals Group.”

The transaction is expected to complete over summer 2022.