South Korean battery materials producer EcoPro BM Company Ltd has announced it has agreed to step up its collaboration with China’s Green Eco-Manufacture (GEM) Company Ltd to strengthen its electric vehicle (EV) battery supply chain operations.
Under the new memorandum of understanding (MOU) announced EcoPro BM aims to secure a steady supply of nickel from GEM for use in precursor materials for EV battery cathodes. According to reports, EcoPro BM is still heavily dependent on its affiliate EcoPro Materials Company for precursor materials, which can account for up to 70% of the cost of EV battery cathodes.
Earlier this year EcoPro BM announced it had invested US$11m for a 9% stake in a nickel smelting factory majority-owned by GEM located on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, allowing it to secure an annual supply of 6,000 tons nickel-based mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) - a raw precursor material.
