GS E&C to build EV battery recycling plant near POSCO

GS Engineering & Construction Co. (GS E&C) has launched the construction of its first lithium-ion battery recycling plant in a South Korean industrial complex where POSCO Chemical Co. plans to build a battery materials plant.

The construction arm of GS Group on Wednesday broke ground on the new plant in the city of Pohang, a southeastern port city in South Korea, marking its entrance into the battery recycling business.

Its parent GS Group last week signed an memorandum of understanding (MOU) with POSCO Co., the steelmaking giant, to cooperate in lithium-ion battery recycling and hydrogen businesses, while setting up a relevant joint venture.

GS E&C will pump about 150 billion won ($128 million) in its first investment in the plant which will start commercial production from 2023. It will expand its investment in phases.

The production facility will extract from used batteries the so-called “black powder” that contains the raw materials for batteries, such as lithium, nickel, manganese and cobalt.

Enerma Corp., an unlisted nonferrous metal refining unit of GS E&C, will operate the plant with an annual processing capacity of 20,000 tons in terms of black powder.

Under the MOU signed with POSCO, GS Caltex Corp. will collect spent electric vehicle batteries from its gas stations nationwide.

POSCO Chemical has been expanding its presence across EV battery materials markets, including cathode and anode materials. Last July, it announced a plan to invest 600 billion won to build a cathode materials plant in the Pohang industrial complex with an annual capacity of 60,000 tons.

Write to Jin-soo Kim at true@hankyung.com
Yeonhee Kim edited this article.