Umicore to Invest €450 Million to Expand Precious Metals Refining in Belgium
Key Facts
Umicore announced on November 12, 2026, a €450 million investment to expand its precious metals processing route in Hoboken, Belgium. The company said the investment will be carried out between 2027 and 2030, with the expansion expected to begin operating in 2030, subject to the required regulatory approvals. The project aims to increase the flexibility of feed materials and shorten processing times for platinum group metals and other precious metals. It will also raise antimony and tin processing capacity, and enable cobalt refining and recycling. Chief Executive Bart Sap said the project strengthens the company's “Belgian and European footprint for critical raw materials.”
The European Commission recently selected the expansion as a strategic project under the Critical Raw Materials Act, according to an Umicore statement. The designation comes as the company broadens the range of materials that can be processed at its Hoboken facility, with cobalt to become the eighteenth metal in the processing route after the project is completed. This includes refining and recycling the metal, the company said. Adding cobalt would expand the list of metals processed through the same route. Umicore said the expansion was envisaged at its Capital Markets Day in March 2025.
Alongside the change in processing scope, the company says the project will improve the refinery's environmental performance and enable compliance with the European Union's ambient air quality directive. The plan also includes increasing automation to enhance operational safety. These changes combine industrial process development with updates to the facility's safety and environmental requirements. Umicore links these improvements to the expansion of the processing route in Hoboken, where work will be carried out over several years. The expansion remains subject to the regulatory approvals that the company said are required before the investment can proceed.
Umicore estimates the investment's payback period at around 6 years. It added that the period could be much shorter if current metal prices persist. This estimate ties the project's return to the price level used by the company in its calculations, without specifying in its statement how much shorter the period could be. Alongside the investment, the company targets equivalent annual savings of around €60 million by the end of the fourth quarter of 2028. The target date for the savings precedes the expected operating year of the expansion, which is 2030.
The industrial plan coincides with proposed organizational changes that could affect up to around 350 employees over the next two years, some of whom may face job losses. Umicore said it has begun consultations with union representatives and works councils on these changes. The statement did not specify how many jobs would actually be affected, noting that the number could reach around 350 employees. The company is therefore placing the restructuring and targeted savings within the same period in which it plans to carry out the investment, between 2027 and 2030. The target is to reach annual savings of around €60 million by the end of the fourth quarter of 2028.
On financial performance, Umicore reaffirmed its guidance for adjusted EBITDA in fiscal 2026 at a level slightly above €1 billion. The company said this follows strong performance in the first half, while trading in the third quarter was in line with expectations. Group revenue in the first half of 2026 rose 7.1% year on year to €1.9 billion. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization increased 33.5% to €577 million over the same period. The company said its reaffirmed annual guidance is based on its assessment of performance to date and third-quarter trading.
The announced investment period begins in 2027 and runs through 2030, the year in which the company expects the expansion to begin operating, subject to securing regulatory approvals. Before then, Umicore targets equivalent annual savings of around €60 million by the end of the fourth quarter of 2028. The new operating route will increase feed-material flexibility, shorten processing times for platinum group metals and other precious metals, and raise antimony and tin processing capacity. It will also add cobalt to the materials that can be refined and recycled at the facility. The company estimates the investment's payback period at around 6 years, with the period potentially much shorter if current metal prices persist.