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Chemicals company Johnson Matthey said it had entered into a partnership with Finnish Minerals to establish a second battery materials plant in Finland and secured raw materials supply from Nornickle and SQM.
Under the partnership, Finnish Minerals will invest to co-develop with Johnson Matthey a solution to treat sodium sulphate - a common manufacturing by-product - and also invest in the pre-treatment technology of nickel and cobalt sulphates to tailor the materials to the requirements of high nickel cathode materials.
The company said it expected to start construction on its second plant in Finland, with nameplate capacity of 30,000 tonnes, later this year.
The company also signed a term sheet for the supply of nickel and cobalt from Nornickel, and an agreement for the supply of lithium hydroxide from SQM.
'The partnership with Finnish Minerals Group, and the long term supply of critical raw materials with Nornickel and SQM, are important milestones on our journey towards developing a sustainable battery materials ecosystem and further demonstrate the progress we are making on the commercialisation of our business,' the company said.