Neomat, an industrial project at the heart of France's ‘battery valley’
Orano and XTC New Energy have decided to create an industrial platform including three factories near Dunkirk in the Hauts-de-France region to complete the electric vehicle battery value chain. The name of this future industrial complex is Neomat.
Neomat is located on a 50-hectares site within the Grand Port Maritime de Dunkerque (GPMD) in the municipalities of Gravelines and Loon-Plage, close to the Quai à Pondéreux Ouest.
The industrial project includes:
- a plant for the production of cathode active material precursors (PCAM)
- a cathode active material (CAM) production plant
- a plant for recycling production waste from the PCAM and CAM plants, scrap from gigafactories and end-of-life batteries
- a PCAM and CAM research and development centre, with associated R&D centres
- an administrative centre shared by the three plants
Synergies for the Neomat industrial platform
The three plants are located on a single site and connected to each other in order to optimise the manufacturing stages and limit buffer stocks of PCAM and nickel, cobalt and manganese sulphates. It will also enable the sharing of resources (electricity, water, support services, etc.).
In summary, this site will ensure:
- the supply of PCAM from the PCAM plant to the CAM plant;
- the recycling of P-CAM and CAM production waste by the recycling plant on site;
- the supply of recycled strategic metals (nickel, manganese, cobalt) from the recycling plant to the PCAM plant and recycled lithium to the CAM plant.
Depending on customer requirements, these plants will be able to offer comprehensive commercial packages combining the recycling of scrap and end-of-life batteries with the manufacture of PCAM and CAM, thereby optimising the final value for the customer and meeting circularity and material traceability objectives.
Dunkirk and Hauts-de-France, a strategic location in the heart of the Batterie Valley
The Hauts-de-France region is pursuing a proactive territorial reindustrialisation policy with a view to becoming a leading player in the development of green industry in Europe.
As such, the region has attracted an entire battery ecosystem, which is now enabling the creation of a complete value chain for future French and European needs.
The Neomat site is located in the Grand Port Maritime de Dunkerque, which, thanks to its modern and substantial logistics facilities, will handle the raw materials and reagents needed to supply our three factories. This prime location will also provide optimal logistics connections (rail, road, sea and river networks) close to various countries.
An R&D centre to invent the best technologies of tomorrow for PCAM and CAM
Located at the heart of the Neomat industrial platform in Dunkirk, the R&D centre will be dedicated to testing new combinations of materials (CAM and PCAM) to support our customers in developing new battery technologies that are increasingly efficient and sustainable and in line with market needs.