Innovation & technology leader

Innovation and technology are deeply rooted within Umicore and are at the heart of everything we do. We have a long tradition and a strong portfolio of innovations, of intellectual property, and of producing cutting-edge technologies throughout the Group. 

Umicore is already a technology leader delivering value through state-of-the art material science, metallurgy and metal chemistry. And we are working hard to maintain our leading position. Whether we are developing the next generation catalysts; the best-in-class battery materials technologies for our automotive customers, creating the most efficient battery recycling technologies or finding novel ways to reduce carbon emissions and capture green-house gas emissions (GHG), we must stay on top. 

To reach our ambitious goals under the new 2030 RISE Strategy, innovation and technology across the Group will continue to be vital. Between 2010 and 2022, Group R&D has doubled demonstrating the strategic importance of innovation in our business. 

“Group R&D doubled between 2010 and 2022, demonstrating its strategic importance”

At Umicore, we know that no one-size-fits-all. That’s why in Rechargeable Battery Materials we invest in developing customized battery materials technologies for our customers covering both “design-to-performance” with high-nickel and “design-to-cost” applications with mid-nickel high voltage, as well as emerging manganese-rich technologies. And of course, we are also ahead of the game in working on advanced technologies such as cathode materials and catholytes for solid-state batteries.

In Precious Metals Refining, further innovation will be essential to reduce our carbon footprint and our overall environmental impact but also to improve our cost structure through automation and digitalization. Our combined pyro and hydro expertise in metals refining is unrivalled. In Battery Recycling, finetuning our pyro hydro processes to recover metals efficiently at the lowest cost while meeting the highest sustainability standards will remain a key differentiator. In our other businesses, our catalyst gauzes used for fertilizer production reduce GHGs, the connectors we use to recharge our phones or cars are subject to innovation in our Metal Deposition Solutions activities; while the magic of seeing in the dark is created with our infrared vision lenses in Electro-Optic Materials and innovative solutions will be needed to meet our customers’ demand for their metals to be traceable.

So, innovation and technology will remain the trademark of Umicore.