In Europe, the battery sector is cautious in the face of Northvolt's difficulties and the rise of alternative chemistries. The Axens teams prefer to see the glass half full. “We are confident: we are not going to start producing before 2028 and we believe that there will be a market for NMC chemistry [nickel-manganèse-cobalt]. So we continue», explains Olivier Callebert, director of the factory implementation project within Axens.
The industrialist specifies that various stages still need to be completed before a final investment decision, including an in-depth feasibility study taking into account the characteristics of the land and the prior consultation procedure.
Axens replaces H2V
The chosen site is the wasteland of a Vallourec factory closed in 2022, a time reserved for a H2V giga-hydrogen factory project, definitively abandoned in the summer. Axens thus wants to position itself as a “local supplier for Europe” of CAM – this lithium, nickel, manganese and cobalt powder. An ingredient which represents 35% of the value of a battery but which is more than 90% produced in China. The group highlights the industrial culture of the region, its location in the heart of the Battery Valley between Dunkirk and Germany and the presence of a good-sized river port.
The factory is due to enter production in 2028 with a production of 25,000 to 30,000 tonnes of CAM per year. In France, Orano has also joined forces with Chinoix XTC to create a factory for CAM and their precursors (p-CAM) in Dunkirk, 130 km further north.
