Battery industry The British company, which plans to build a battery plant in Vaasa, intends to divest its battery materials business – “It’s too early to say whether this is good or bad news”

British chemical company Johnson Matthey said Thursday it plans to divest its battery materials business. The announcement will also have an impact in Finland, as the company plans to build a battery plant in Vaasa.

Johnson Matthey said in a statement that the potential returns from the battery business are not sufficient to justify further investment.

The company’s goal is to sell all or part of its battery business.

HS asked Johnson Matthey what the decision meant for the Vaasa battery plant project. According to a company spokesman, Johnson Matthey is already discussing the sale of his business with a small number of players and plans to expand the discussions in the coming days.

However, according to the representative, it is still too early to say what the outcome of the discussions will be.

Johnson Matthey and the city of Vaasa made a letter of intent for the battery material plant last April. The state-owned investment company Suomen Malmijalostus is also involved in the project.

Managing Director of Finnish Ore Processing Matti Hietanen says the British company ‘s announcement was a surprise. He would like to emphasize that the decision does not only apply to the Vaasa project, but to the company’s battery materials business as a whole.

“This solution does not refer to Finland’s attractiveness, but this is a global solution for them.”

Also According to Hietanen, it is still too early to say what Johnson Matthey’s decision means for the Vaasa project. The British company also has a somewhat similar battery material plant project in Poland. According to Hietanen, the Polish plant is already under construction, which means that it is further away than the plant planned for Vaasa.

“The continuation of both projects will certainly depend on what kind of player acquires this business. Now it is too early to say whether this is good or bad news for Vaasa, ”Hietanen estimates.

The Vaasa plant is still in the planning stage, and no actual investment decisions have been made. However, according to Hietanen, work has already begun on the site of the planned plant.

It is also still unclear how Johnson Matthey’s announcement will affect the plant’s design work in the short term.

“It’s safe to assume that the delay will now come until the solution is resolved.”

Hietanen sees two options for the continuation of the Vaasa battery plant project.

In the first, someone buys Johnson Matthey’s battery business and continues the projects in some form.

Another option is that there is no buyer for the business, but there will be a completely different player on the factory site in Vaasa.

“The area of ​​Vaasa Gigafactory is well suited for such activities. There is a good chance of implementing this type of project. Even if there is no solution through Johnson Matthey, it does not mean that there are no other visitors, ”says Hietanen.

Of course, the third option is. How confident is Hietanen that a battery material factory will still be built in Vaasa at all?

“The projects in this value chain will definitely continue in Vaasa. If you think about the plot that will replace it, then I am quite confident that new projects will come there anyway. ”

Does Johnson Matthey’s announcement jeopardize the much-talked-about Finnish battery cluster?

“Not at all. Of course, this is unfortunate, but doing Finnish does not depend on one project. ”