UMICORE’S BATTERY RECYCLING PROCESS: AN UPDATE ON WHAT'S DONE AND THE FUTURE OUTLOOK

Editor's Notes

1. In this presentation we explain what makes Umicore unique for our stakeholders: our foundations, our unique position in clean mobility and recycling, our strategic ambitions, our sustainability approach, our strong commitment to innovation and our solid financial structure.
2. To give you an idea of the things we do and where our products and services make a difference here are three examples:
3. Unique business model Our closed-loop business model is a powerful differentiator, and it will continue to be the basis on which we carry out our business and the basis on which we build our strategy.  It is designed to deliver positive environmental impact in parallel with economic value creation. Industry leader in sustainability Our pioneering approach to sustainability is also a factor of distinction for Umicore and a true differentiator. Clearly, one of the areas in which we distinguish ourselves the most is the supply of raw materials. We are pioneers in ethical supply and were the first company in the battery value chain to offer materials which are certified by an independent third party as coming from an ethical source. In order to continue to be successful as a company and continue to be a sustainability leader in our industry, we have to raise the bar and have to be bolder and broader, we have to act faster and be better. By this we mean net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2035. The three megatrends that support our businesses are more solid than ever: 1/ metals are becoming more and more scarce. Demand continues to increase, with metals providing the functionalities for many of the applications that are essential in the modern world. At the same time metals are becoming more difficult to extract as ore bodies are become depleted. 2/ The need for cleaner air quality is also a powerful trend. Around the world, particularly in the cities and towns, there is a demand for harmful pollutants in the air to be removed or reduced.   3/ The electrification trend: A few years ago there were some question marks about the move to electric or electrified vehicles or electrified transportation. Today, the question is not about whether it will happen, the question is about how fast it will take place. Why are these trends particularly relevant for Umicore? Because we have competencies and technologies to address these trends and be a part of the solution to these environmental and societal problems. Providing solutions to these megatrends are the core of our strategy and form the basis of our growth ambitions.
4. In clean mobility materials, Umicore is unique. Umicore is the only materials technology company that provides a full offering to support the roadmap towards ever cleaner vehicles. 1/ We provide automotive catalysts to clean the exhaust gases from internal combustion engines for light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles and for all fuel types. 2/ Umicore also provides cathode materials for electric vehicles 3/ We produce the catalysts that are used in fuel cell driven vehicles. 4/ And last but not least, the combination of automotive catalysts and cathode materials power hybrid vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles…. Umicore is also the only player that has the capability of recycling all these materials and components of the drivetrain when they reach end of life in a sustainable closed loop. We have established strong positions in all these areas over the years and we have invested massively for future
5. Umicore’s closed loop business model is based on our competence and uniqueness in recycling. Today, we can recover over 20 different metals, offering the highest metal yields. We offer recycling services to customers in our product businesses: we can recycle the customers’ residues and production scrap in order to help them maximize their efficiency and we then transform the recovered materials into new products Additionally, we also address the most complex residue streams: from industrial residues from the smelting industry to recyclables such as end-of-life electronic scrap (printed circuit boards and old mobile phones) as well as spent industrial catalysts and automotive catalysts. We also have a battery recycling pilot plant under incubation phase and looking into commercial opportunities at the end of this decade. This business is centered in our recycling facility in Hoboken (Belgium) and recovers 17 precious and other valuable metals from over 200 complex residue streams. The metallurgy used in this plant is found nowhere else and makes Umicore the most flexible and advanced metals recycler on the planet. We are further leveraging Umicore’s leadership in closed loop solutions for customers
6. Umicore has a unique value chain integration (blue sections) and we apply “The Umicore Way”, which is the cornerstone of everything we do: - our overall commitment to the principles of sustainable development - not only for our people but also covers our relationships with all our stakeholders. We start by ensuring sustainable sourcing or feed our process with recycled materials from our own smelters and refiners. Our innovative state-of-the art (recycling) plants with the highest environmental standards may recover high percentage yields of non-ferrous metals which are then supplied to our production processes. Through our know-how we produce best in class materials technology and product quality (e.g. battery cathode materials) which are then supplied to our customers covering different technology applications for mobility. Once materials reach end-of-life and supplied to us, the loop starts again and again, which also applies to intermediates and production scrap created along the value chain.
7. Umicore’s overriding goal of sustainable value creation is based on an ambition to develop, produce and recycle materials in a way that fulfils its mission: materials for a better life. We want to build on the progress that we’ve made in the past 20 years. Our biggest impact on society comes from our products & services. We reduce harmful emissions, power the vehicles and technologies of the future, and give new life to used metals. Our products have prevented hundreds of million tons of harmful pollutants from being emitted into the air. Our recycling business enables many customers to reduce the use of primary materials and address the global challenge of resource scarcity. We set new industry benchmarks through our technology and innovation to differentiate ourselves from the rest.
8. Overall we are well positioned with a clear leadership in clean mobility materials and recycling; and committed to reamain an industry leader in sustainabilit by setting new industry standards. This is based on our unique closed loop business model, our early leadership positions in key segments, a strong commitment to innovation and R&D as well as a solid financial structure which gives us the strength to fund our own growth plans.
9. ANIMATION (look in presentation mode) In order to continue to be successful as a company and continue to be a sustainability leader in our industry, we have to raise the bar. We have to be bolder and broader, we have to act faster and be better.  We want to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2035; We will increase diversity, be it gender, nationalities or in terms of personal background and ensure zero inequality;  We will introduce a new safety culture and increase the wellbeing to ensure zero harm. Zero harm also means caring for our neighbors and the environment around us. We are going for zero.
10. Climate change requires action now and we have chosen not to leave it to the next generation to solve the issue. Therefore, we have worked out an aggressive roadmap to become carbon neutral by 2035.
11. With intermediate milestones of a 20% reduction to be already achieved by 2025 and a 50% reduction by 2030.  Part of our decarbonization ambitions also include working with our partners and formulating an ambitious scope 3 reduction target in 2022.
12. This gives you a global overview of where Umicore has its operations. The company has developed a truly global profile in the past 20 years with significant production presence close to our customers. Some of our production sites and R&D Technical centers are located on the same site but are counted as separate entities under our global presence figures.
13. Results in 2020: In terms of financials Umicore generated revenues (ex. metals contained in our products) of € 3.2 billion in 2020 and achieved record earnings of € 536 million. Despite the severe disruption brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Umicore posted its strongest financial performance ever, boosted also by an exceptional PGM price environment. This strong performance underscores the merits of Umicore’s complementary business activities. Our R&D is fully aligned with our strategy of maintaining and expanding the scope of its open innovation strategy and continuous monitoring of technology trends. In 2020 R&D expenditures increased compared to 2019 reflecting higher R&D spend on new product and process technologies in Rechargeable Battery Materials. In 2020 77% of the revenues came from clean mobility and recycling solutions and much of the rest (23%) came from solutions such as improving connectivity or reducing energy consumption 64% of the materials that we produce originate from end-of-life and secondary sources and our geographic footprint in terms of revenue generation mainly come from Asia-Pacific and Europe.
14. our battery recycling expertise and long-standing competences in hydro- and pyrometallurgy recycling processes place Umicore in a unique position to meet the needs of automotive manufacturers and the wider EV supply chain New Business Unit After intensive research and piloting activities, our latest generation and proprietary recycling technology is ready to come on stream.