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Vianode to See Accelerated Growth with Elkem, Hydro and Altor Partnership

April 06, 2022. By News Bureau

Elkem, Hydro, and Altor announced a partnership for the accelerated growth of Vianode, a sustainable battery materials producer. An investment decision is expected in the first half of 2022 for a potential first-phase plant at Herøya, Norway.

Established in 2021, Vianode builds on Elkem's experience in advanced material solutions, its in-house research and development resources. With this partnership, Hydro and Altor will each have 30% ownership in Vianode, while Elkem retains the remaining 40%.

Vianode has developed a wide range of synthetic graphite products for batteries with unique performance characteristics, produced with notably lower CO2 emissions than the standard materials today.

"I would like to congratulate the parties on a very exciting industrial collaboration! The Norwegian Government has great ambitions for a green industrial boost where batteries are one of six focus areas. The purpose is to create new, green jobs, increase mainland investment, increase exports outside oil and gas and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These are the kind of projects and partnerships we want more of when we now will go through the biggest restructuring of the Norwegian economy ever," says Jan Christian Vestre, Minister of Trade and Industry, Norway.

The total investments are estimated at around NOK 2 billion for the first-phase plant and preparation for the potential full-scale plant. The plant will employ approximately 100 people and produce graphite for more than 20,000 EVs annually.

"The market for battery materials is growing at an exponential rate and developing sustainable value chains is critical for the green transformation. Vianode aims to become a leading producer of sustainable battery materials, and this represents an attractive growth opportunity for Elkem. Hydro and Altor both add significant experience and expertise in developing large-scale industrial projects in the battery value chain. Through complementary skillsets, the partnership with Hydro and Altor will contribute to making Vianode a highly valuable contribution to the European battery value chain," says Helge Aasen, CEO, Elkem.

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