IONWAY is the new joint venture formed by PowerCo, the battery company of the Volkswagen Group, and Umicore, the circular materials technology company. The journey has just started, yet the foundations go further back. This is the story of how IONWAY came to life to establish a large-scale secure supply chain of high-performing battery materials.
To support the acceleration of clean electric mobility and a zero-emission future, Umicore joined forces with PowerCo back in December 2021 announcing their plans to build up battery material production capacities. To pursue their common and ambitious goal of enabling e-mobility to everybody, the two partners came together to unite their complementary technology, innovation and industrial know-how. From there onwards progress was made, the joint venture agreement was signed in September 2022, and the joint-venture created in March 2023, before the launch of its commercial name IONWAY in October 2023.
To shape the battery industry and drive the energy transition for millions of electric cars, IONWAY will start construction of its production facilities soon in order to supply PowerCo’s cell factories. PCAM and CAM are the key technological components for batteries and both partners look to grow annual production capacity to 160 GWh by the end of the decade, enough to power about 2.2 million electric vehicles.
IONWAY will be an important contributor to the green mobility transition and the further development of a transparent, fully integrated battery supply chain with high environmental and social standards. The joint venture will collaborate on the responsible sourcing of raw materials and aim to include elements of refining and battery recycling at a later stage.
IONWAY is the start-up with a head start, a long-term union that will create large-scale impact. It will play an important role in supporting the transition to carbon free mobility with its high-grade battery materials for accessible and affordable electric cars. With this synergy for energy IONWAY will make the energy transition happen.