Elkem, Norsk Hydro and Altor Partner on Battery Materials Business
April 06 2022 - 3:17AM
Dow Jones News
By Dominic Chopping
Norwegian materials manufacturer Elkem ASA said Wednesday that
aluminum and renewable energy company Norsk Hydro ASA and
private-equity firm Altor Equity Partners have invested in its
Vianode battery materials business.
Vianode has developed a range of synthetic graphite products for
batteries that have unique performance characteristics and are
produced with significantly lower CO2 emissions than standard
materials, it said.
Following the transaction, Hydro and Altor will each have 30%
ownership in Vianode, while Elkem will retain the remaining
40%.
Vianode is planning to build an industrial scale production site
in Heroya, Norway, and Elkem said an investment decision for the
first-phase of the plant is expected during the first half of
2022.
When completed, the first-phase of the plant will have around
100 employees and produce graphite for more than 20,000 electric
vehicles a year, while the full-scale plant will produce graphite
for more than 1 million electric vehicles a year and is expected to
increase the number of employees in Vianode to around 300, it
said.
Elkem said total investments in the first-phase of the plant and
preparations for a potential full-scale plant are estimated at
around 2 billion Norwegian kroner ($229.1 million).
Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 06, 2022 03:02 ET (07:02 GMT)
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