European EV battery materials producer IONWAY has chosen to build its first Cathode Active Material (CAM) production plant in Nysa, Poland.

It will be next to Umicore’s existing CAM plant, Volkswagen has announced.

IONWAY is a joint venture is backed by Volkswagen’s PowerCO and Umicore.

IONWAY wants to grow its annual production capacity to 160 GWh per annum by the end of the decade. The plant is expected to create around 900 jobs in Nysa.

The Polish government is offering IONWAY €350 million in cash grants under the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework for a total investment of up to €1.7 billion (€ 1.35 billion after grants) by the end of the decade.

Thomas Jansseune, CEO of IONWAY said: "Today’s launch of IONWAY signals PowerCo’s and Umicore’s commitment to sustainable progress that makes electric cars affordable for everybody, starting now.”

Jörg Teichmann, Chief Purchasing Officer of PowerCo said: “IONWAY gives both PowerCo and Umicore a significant first-mover advantage in the fast-growing e-mobility market in Europe. PowerCo has now co-created what it was looking for: a battery materials supplier to secure and build-up manufacturing capacity for reliable and cost-competitive precursor and cathode material production based on responsibly sourced raw materials.”

Preparation of the site, engineering, and permitting are ongoing and the company says construction will start when local planning permissions are approved.