Peter-Vincent Schuld

Belgian metallurgy giant Umicore (formerly Union Miniere) has definitively chosen Nysa in Poland as the location for its new factory for special rechargeable batteries.

Due to skyrocketing energy costs, Belgium appears to be too expensive to make a cost-effective investment.
The new production site also had to meet the condition that there are sufficient skilled personnel available at competitive wage costs.

It will be the first factory in Europe to produce cathode materials for rechargeable batteries.

According to economists, the investment in Poland should raise some question marks about the investment climate in Belgium, where average wage costs are up to 4 times higher than in Poland.

It is a major setback for Flanders that the prestigious and innovative production facility is going to be built in Poland.
However, a Process Competence Centre will be built on the existing Umicore site in Olen. Umicore states in its press release that the research facility should strengthen its leading position in energy-efficient and innovative production processes used in the high-tech industry.

With more than 10,000 employees, Umicore is one of the leading companies in the refining and recycling of more expensive chemical metalloid elements such as germaniun and metals such as cobalt, zinc and other metals.