Volkswagen-backed PowerCo, a battery company, and Umicore, a Belgian circular materials technology group, agreed to form $3bn joint venture for precursor and cathode material production in Europe. "This partnership is a strong signal of recognition of our product and process expertise and a testament to the success of our strategy to establish sustainable industrial-scale, closed loop battery materials value chains in key regions. We are supporting our customers on their path to electrification right from the start, and are very pleased to partner with PowerCo and support Volkswagen in their fast transformation towards sustainable electric mobility," Mathias Miedreich, Umicore CEO.