An Australian firm has swooped for Johnson Matthey’s battery materials business in a £50m deal, acquiring several UK sites while also saving jobs.
EV Metals Group has snapped up the Battery Materials business assets in Billingham on Teesside, plus sites in Oxford, Germany and Poland, together with a package of patents, licences and a team of 100 technical personnel in the deal, to become “a new force” in the electric vehicles supplies market.
The deal comes five months after Johnson Matthey placed 150 staff at the firm’s Billingham plant under consultation, after owners announced plans to close the battery materials business. At the time, the company had been developing a next-generation battery cathode material to increase the range of electric vehicles, but it said that while demand for battery materials was accelerating, so was competition from alternative technologies and other manufacturers.
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It had been attempting to sell its individual assets but talks with a number of parties to offload the business as a whole had broken down.
Now, however, EV Metals Group will keep the North East site open and it also hopes to announce further recruitment and investment. The deal includes the battery technology centre, together with its pilot plant and research laboratories, as well as Johnson Matthew’s battery divisions in Oxford, Germany and one under construction in Poland.
Johnson Matthey take a minority equity stake in EVM and a seat on the board.
Michael Naylor, managing director and CEO of EV Metals Group, said the company plans to protect existing roles and create a significant number of additional jobs.
He said: “The acquisition of the Battery Materials business is a strong strategic fit for EVM and accelerates our mission to become the Western world’s pre-eminent CAM producer. We are pleased to welcome the management and technical team of the Battery Materials business to EVM and look forward to working with them as a strategic business unit within EVM Group.
“Strong and world-leading technology, as well as know-how, is the key to a sustainable CAM business.
“Through this acquisition, EVM will be able to progress the next generation of battery chemistry development to meet the growing and substantial market demand. We plan to be in CAM production by 2024, in advance of our large upstream and midstream capacity coming online from 2025. This will allow us to accelerate and provide battery cell chemistry that is matched to the needs of electric vehicle and battery cell manufacturers seeking transparent and geopolitically aligned supply chains.
“The UK is investing significantly to drive forward the transformation to electrification. We are ideally positioned to support the entire supply chain though our focus on developing our UK plants, technology and skilled workforce.”
The deal is set to be completed this summer.
Ian Constance, CEO of the Advanced Propulsion Centre, the organisation tasked by industry and government to accelerate the UK automotive sector’s transition to net zero, said: “This is great news. The UK has significant expertise in battery materials processing and we are delighted that EVM intend to maintain operations here, safeguarding the knowledge and highly skilled jobs in this growth sector. Our forecasts show demand for batteries in the UK automotive sector will be upwards of 90GWh by 2030 but there is a real danger of Europe-wide pinch points around the availability of high-value battery materials, particularly cathodes, anodes and separators. Today’s news is hugely positive as it provides greater certainty for the vital, localised upstream supply chain.”
Jeremy Wrathall, founder and CEO of Cornish Lithium Ltd: “Cornish Lithium is delighted that EVM has secured this deal and will acquire the CAM assets of Johnson Matthey. In our view this is an opportunity to build a truly integrated battery materials supply chain in the UK - from the raw materials, such as lithium, right through to electric vehicles. We sincerely hope that EVM will locate some of the CAM facilities in Cornwall in order to further boost Cornish industry and cement its position as a powerhouse of the electric revolution.”
EV Metals Group has appointed Investment Bank, Peel Hunt LLP, to act as financial adviser and placement agent in respect of a private capital raise for the company.
