The Russian metals and mining company Nornickel has entered into an agreement with the German chemical company BASF for the supply of materials to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles. The deal may amount to several billion euros, according to the Kommersant daily.
Nornickel will supply nickel and cobalt to Harjavalta, Finland, where the new BASF plant will be located. The new facility is to open in about two years to produce materials for 300K cars a year. The plant will operate in full compliance with the electric vehicles environmental philosophy widely accepted in Finland.
The facility will use renewable energy sources, including hydro, wind and biomass energy derived from wood, cereals, manure and certain types of waste.
BASF is the world’s largest chemical company headquartered in Ludwigshafen (Germany). Nornickel is one of the largest Russian companies (with capitalization exceeding RUR 1.5 trillion ($23 bln). The key figures in the company are Russian tycoons Vladimir Potanin and Alexei Prokhorov.