Bluestar Elkem, Hydro and Altor Fund V, a Swedish private equity fund, recently announced a partnership to accelerate the growth of Vianode, a producer of sustainable battery materials and a subsidiary of Bluestar Elkem, to contribute to the green transition and achieve carbon neutrality. Following the partnership, Hydro and Altor will hold a 30% stake in Vianode, respectively, with the remaining 40% held by Bluestar Elkem.

Founded in 2020, Vianode has developed a range of synthetic graphite materials for batteries by relying on Bluestar Elkem's extensive experience in advanced materials solutions and internal R&D resources and the strong performance of Norway’s Kristiansand pilot plant. Consuming less energy, such products are manufactured with high temperature processes and a closed-loop production system. It uses renewable energy and has significantly lower CO2 emissions in production than existing common types of materials, serving as a pillar of Vianode leading the development of battery and automobile manufacturing. Graphite is an essential material for automobile batteries. Each EV currently carries an average of 40 to 70 kg of graphite.

The new cooperation will be followed by a decision on whether to build the phase-I plant project in the Norway Her?ya Industrial Park. The plant will produce graphite material for more than 20,000 EVs per year. After reaching certain production capacity, the plant will be able to produce graphite for over 1 million EVs annually and offer over 1,000 eco-friendly jobs.

“As the current market for battery materials is growing exponentially, developing a sustainable value chain is crucial to the green transition,” said Helge Aasen, CEO of Bluestar Elkem. Vianode aims to serve as a top producer of sustainable battery materials. This will present an excellent opportunity for the growth of Elkem. Partnering with Hydro and Altor, Elkem can enable complementary technologies and assist Vianode in contributing more to the battery value chain.”