PCC SE: EU Commission designates PCC Thorion's battery materials project as a strategically important raw materials project

Duisburg (pta031/31.03.2025/15:13 UTC+2)

The EU Commission has included PCC Thorion GmbH's battery materials project in its list of 47 strategically important raw materials projects that are to receive special support due to high public interest. PCC Thorion is a wholly owned subsidiary of PCC SE. With its ProHiPerSi project, PCC Thorion is addressing the need to increase the performance of lithium-ion batteries while at the same time reducing the dependence on graphite-imports through the development of a novel silicon-based anode active material.

According to the EU Commission's assessment, the project demonstrates significant strengths and contributes to the EU's security of supply. The Commission also highlights the project's solid technical foundation, the feasibility of large-scale implementation, and its sustainability. PCC Thorion GmbH is currently planning a pilot plant to advance the use of the new high-tech component in battery production.

"The EU Commission's designation of our battery materials project as a strategic raw materials project underscores the economic and political relevance as well as the attractiveness of our project," commented Dr. Peter Wenzel, CEO of PCC SE.

Through the listing, PCC receives certain rights and enabling conditions, such as priority status under national law, facilitated permitting and authorizations, as well as accelerated implementations, coordinated financing and facilitation of offtake agreements.

The 47 projects identified by the EU Commission are the first critically relevant projects aligned to increasing raw material capacities in Europe. The goal is to strengthen the domestic extraction, recycling, processing, and substitution of critical raw materials. According to the Commission, the 47 projects designated as strategic represent an important milestone in the implementation of the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), an EU law passed in May 2024 to secure and diversify the supply of critical raw materials.

About PCC Thorion GmbH

PCC Thorion GmbH is a young, innovative company focusing on the development and production of silicon-carbon composites and other silicon metal-based materials for use in batteries. As a subsidiary of the Duisburg-based investment holding company PCC SE, PCC Thorion GmbH is part of the globally active PCC Group with about 3,300 employees. The PCC Group has core competencies in the production of chemical raw materials and specialty chemicals, silicon and silicon derivatives, and in container logistics. There is close cooperation with sister company PCC BakkiSilicon hf. which operates one of the world's most modern and climate-friendly silicon production facilities in Iceland. This enables PCC Thorion GmbH to ensure a sustainable and safe production chain from the raw material silicon to the end product. Founded in 2022, the company is headquartered in Duisburg. Further information about PCC Thorion GmbH can be found at https://www.pcc-thorion.eu.

About ProHiPerSi

The project ProHiPerSi of PCC Thorion GmbH addresses the increase in performance of lithium-ion batteries while at the same time reducing the specific production costs through a novel silicon-based anode active material (AAM). The material has been proven to significantly increase both the energy density and the fast-charge capability of state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries. The AAM has been designed in a way that allows for its gradual implementation into already existing cell production lines as a replacement for graphite. The ProHiPerSi project would make a meaningful contribution to the security of the EU's supply of strategic raw materials by substituting a battery-grade graphite by means of an alternative silicon-based anode active material. This material promises substantial performance enhancements in terms of faster charging capabilities, reduced carbon footprint and increased energy density.

About PCC SE

PCC SE, headquartered in Duisburg, is the holding company of the globally active PCC Group with around 3,300 employees. Its group companies have core competencies in the production of chemical raw materials and specialty chemicals, silicon and silicon derivatives, as well as in container logistics. As a long-term oriented investor, PCC SE focuses on continuously increasing the corporate values of its investments through sustainable investments and consistently creating new value. The largest chemical producers in the PCC Group are PCC Rokita SA, a significant chlorine manufacturer and Eastern Europe's leading producer of polyols, and PCC Exol SA, one of the most modern surfactant producers in Europe. PCC BakkiSilicon hf. operates one of the world's most modern and climate-friendly silicon metal production plants in Iceland. PCC celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2023: PCC was founded in 1993 by Waldemar Preussner, sole shareholder of PCC SE, who today chairs the Supervisory Board. PCC has been issuing bonds for over 25 years now. In the 2024 financial year, the PCC Group achieved consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of about 88 million euros on consolidated sales of about 960 million euros. The investment volume in 2024 amounted to about 127 million euros.

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Emitter:	PCC SE Moerser Straße 149 47198 Duisburg Germany
Contact Person:	Susanne Biskamp, PCC Head of Marketing & PR
Phone:	+49 2066 2019-35
E-Mail:	susanne.biskamp@pcc.eu
Website:	www.pcc.eu
ISIN(s):	DE000A383S03 (Bond) DE000A4DFLK9 (Bond)
Stock Exchange(s):	Free Market in Frankfurt