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LG Energy Solution Ltd. announced on Tuesday, July 26, that it has partnered with China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co. to build a new battery recycling plant. The two agreed to sign a joint venture deal to secure a stable supply of raw materials for lithium-ion battery production.
According to Yonhap News Agency, LG Energy Solution and Huayou Cobalt, a Chinese mining company, will set up two new plants that will be used to extract lithium, cobalt, and nickel, which are key components for making lithium-ion batteries that are used in electric vehicles.
The South Korean battery manufacturer said that they would be extracting the alloys and super alloys from used and scrap batteries to be recycled and re-used again for new batteries. The plants will be built in China.
The first factory is a pre-treatment facility where the scrap batteries are processed. These will then be brought to LGES' production plant in Nanjing. The post-processing plant that will process the recycled materials will be built in Quzhou, located in western Zhejiang, where Huayou Cobalt is also operating.
In any case, the deal between LG Energy Solution and Huayou Cobalt still needs more polishing. In fact, the former said that they are working on a plan so they can work out a plan with Huayou regarding the terms and other details of the contract. In this way, they can launch the joint venture company smoothly by the end of this year.
The two companies are hoping to finalize their agreement for the JV soon. Once done, this will be the very first Korea-China battery recycling firm that will be established in China.
“The establishment of a resource virtuous circle system that manages entire battery lifecycle is essential for sustainable and stable battery supply chain,” Pulse News quoted LG Energy’s vice chairman and chief executive officer, Kwon Young Soo, as saying regarding the new partnership. “We will be able to enhance cost competitiveness and raw materials supply stability by securing battery recycling capacity.”
Chen Zuehua, Huayou Cobalt’s chairman, added, “We will carry out joint efforts to establish a virtuous circle system of eco-friendly and high-quality battery production.”
