The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and German lender KfW-IPEX bank have granted a loan of €135mn for chemicals and sustainable technologies group Johnson Matthey to build a factory to produce battery components for electric cars in Konin, Poland.

The financing comprises a €90mn loan from the EBRD and a €45mn loan from KfW IPEX-Bank. Johnson Matthey will use the factory in Konin to produce cathode materials for electric car batteries. 

“The plant will become the world’s first production site of eLNO, the company’s ultra-high energy density next generation cathode battery materials. These are expected to improve the performance of lithium ion batteries and help promote electric vehicle usage on a larger scale,” the EBRD said in a statement.

The production capacity in Konin will be 10,000 tonnes of eLNO per year, enough for around 100,000 electric vehicles. In addition, the site, which will start production in 2022, has the potential to expand tenfold through further investment. Construction of the plant began this year.

Poland has ambitions to become an e-mobility powerhouse in the EU. The government recently revealed the design of the country’s first domestically produced electric car, Izera. State-owned company Electromobility Poland claims that production of Izera will launch in 2023 and over 100,000 cars will roll down the production lines each year shortly afterwards.