Johnson Matthey has announced the sale of part of its Battery Materials business to EV Metals Group for £50 million.

The sale includes its assets at the Battery Technology Centre in Oxford & Battery Technology Centre and pilot plant in Billingham, a research centre in Moosburg, Germany and the partly-constructed site in Konin, Poland.

It does not, however, include Johnson Matthey’s LFP (lithium-ion phosphate) facility in Canada, as it is being bought by Nano One.

Johnson Matthey is receiving a minority equity stake in EV Metals under the deal.

Michael Naylor, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of EV Metals Group said: “EV Metals is committed to protecting all high-value, specialist jobs within JM’s battery materials business and to driving further job creation by building out a UK EV supply chain. We are pleased to welcome the technology team in the UK and Germany who developed the Johnson Matthey Battery Materials business to the EV Metals team.

“We look forward to working with them to commercialise cathode active materials technology through the development of cathode active materials plants for electric vehicle and battery cell manufacturers in the UK and Europe, where demand is forecast to significantly outpace supply. We are also pleased to welcome Johnson Matthey as a shareholder of EV Metals Group.”