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MOSCOW, April 19 (Reuters) - Russian metals producer
Nornickel said on Monday it had signed a long-term
agreement to supply nickel and cobalt to chemicals company
Johnson Matthey to produce materials used to make
electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
Nornickel, one of the world's largest producers of nickel,
said last week it would boost output of nickel products at its
Harjavalta refinery in Finland, betting on an expanding market
for battery materials for EVs in Europe.
Harjavalta's products "will be playing an important role in
satisfying Johnson Matthey’s requirements for its precursor and
cathode active materials production in Finland as well as for
its existing factory in Poland," Nornickel said in a statement.
Johnson Matthey said it would partner with Finland's state
mining investment firm Finnish Minerals Group to locate a second
commercial plant for cathode materials with capacity of 30,000
tonnes in Finland.
Nornickel and Johnson Matthey also agreed to explore options
to expand the supply of nickel and cobalt in future and to
collaborate in other parts of the battery materials value chain,
including new metal dissolution technology and tokenisation of
the supply chain using blockchain technology, the Russian firm
said.
(Reporting by Polina Devitt and Maxim Rodionov; Editing by
Louise Heavens and Edmund Blair)
Johnson Matthey (JMAT)
