Johnson Matthey shares were near the top of the FTSE 100 leaderboard on Monday, advancing as the metals refiner and chemicals company announced a partnership on sustainable battery-materials production.
Johnson Matthey
JMAT,
+0.69%
rose 2%, and has gained 34% this year, after agreeing a deal with Finnish Minerals Group to locate a second commercial plant in Finland for what’s called eLNO cathode materials. “Finland has a favorable battery materials ecosystem, offering reliable access to renewable energy, sustainable raw materials and proximity to major European automotive OEM [original equipment manufacturers] and cell manufacturers,” said the company.
“It could only be a matter of time before traditional combustion engines are completely phased out, so Johnson Matthey is in a race against the clock. Right now, eLNO makes up just a fraction of overall revenue, so the sooner the group can scale up commercial production, the better,” said Laura Hoy, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
It was a mostly quiet day for the FTSE 100
UKX,
-0.10%,
which held on to the 7,000 level, rising 0.2% to 7,030.69.
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