EcoPro BM’s factory in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province / Courtesy of EcoPro BM
EcoPro BM has begun converting its Hungary plant to produce high-nickel cathode materials for European premium electric vehicles (EVs), as the battery materials maker moves to deepen its foothold with global automakers.
The company said Monday that it is modifying an existing nickel-cobalt-aluminum (NCA) production line at the plant to also manufacture nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) materials, with shipments to European customers expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2027.
The conversion is expected to require about 40 billion won ($29 million), according to the company.
EcoPro BM outlined its European business plans at an investor briefing at NH Investment & Securities’ headquarters in Seoul on Friday, saying it had begun investing in the plant’s conversion to supply high-nickel cathode materials to a German premium automaker.
The Debrecen plant, which began commercial operations in the first half of this year, has an annual production capacity of 54,000 tons and currently operates NCA lines.
The company is ordering equipment and preparing shipments as it converts the facility into a mixed NCA-NCM production line.
The wider EcoPro group has built a production complex on a site in Debrecen that includes EcoPro BM’s cathode-material plant, EcoPro Innovation’s lithium-processing facility and EcoPro AP’s industrial-gas plant.
EcoPro BM’s three production lines have combined annual capacity of 54,000 tons, enough to supply batteries for about 600,000 EVs, while EcoPro Innovation can process 8,000 tons of lithium hydroxide annually.
The Hungary operation began full-scale production in June and is preparing to start its second line in September, with output targeted at about 10,000 tons this year and 30,000 tons next year.
EcoPro BM said it expects higher volumes, production-line stabilization, operating improvements and cost reductions to help move the Hungary operation toward quarterly profitability in the second half of this year.
The company is also seeking to secure nickel through the group’s BNSI smelter project in Indonesia, a move it says could strengthen supply stability and cost competitiveness as European automakers increasingly seek regional sourcing.
EcoPro BM said the Hungary operation is expected to move into a full-fledged profitability phase in the fourth quarter and that the company would strengthen partnerships with European automakers while improving profitability.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.
