The hidden hand

The uranium supplier now powering EVs

The Belgian company that fueled the Manhattan Project has reinvented itself as a critical battery materials maker for the world's automakers.

The number

1906founded

Producer

Producer · Umicore N.V. (Battery Materials)

Belgian specialty materials company (Euronext: UMI, HQ Brussels); battery materials division produces nickel hydroxide for NiMH batteries and NMC (nickel-manganese-cobalt) precursor for Li-ion EV batteries. Umicore was founded in 1906 as Union Minière du Haut Katanga — the mining company that extracted copper and uranium from Belgian Congo (now DRC). The same company that owned the Congo uranium mine whose output was used in the Manhattan Project (Little Boy and Fat Man bombs) now makes battery cathode materials for Toyota Prius and European EVs. Umicore sold its mining operations in 1991 and pivoted to materials technology; today it is one of the world's largest precious metals recyclers and a key producer of battery cathode materials.

Surprise score

92 / 100

Umicore's Shinkolobwe mine supplied uranium for the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and for America's first nuclear reactor. After divesting mining operations in 1991, the company now manufactures cathode materials for Toyota and European EV makers—transforming from weapons infrastructure to climate technology.

Source: History | Umicore · Umicore · Dec 31, 2023

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The uranium supplier now powering EVs

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