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Battery recycling

Hyundai Glovis, Hyundai Motor, LG Chem get nod on EV battery recycling

By Oct 20, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)

1 Min read

The South Korean government has eased regulations to allow local automakers and battery makers to collaborate on recycling used electric-vehicle batteries in efforts to reduce battery-related environmental problems.

Under the regulatory approval granted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Oct. 19, Hyundai Glovis Co., a logistics unit of Hyundai Automotive Group, will be able to rent out its batteries to KST Mobility Co., which operates EV ride-hailing platform Macaron Taxi.
Electric vehicle charging stations in Korea
Electric vehicle charging stations in Korea

Electric taxis need to change batteries every two to three years, and the recycled batteries will be used by LG Chem Ltd., the world’s top EV battery maker, to produce energy storage systems (ESS) for recharging electric cars.

Also, Hyundai Motor Co., the country’s largest automaker, will be allowed to collect used EV batteries to build energy storage containers linked to solar facilities.

The government's approval comes as the number of scrapped EV batteries is expected to rise steadily in line with South Korea’s green energy initiative, which promotes the use of electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel-cell cars.

According to the state-run Korea Energy Economics Institute, the number of scrapped EV batteries is forecast to rise rapidly to some 80,000 units a year by 2029.

Currently, used EV batteries are collected by local governments in Korea. A lack of regulation on the recycling of used batteries has often resulted in them piling up in government storage areas.

“For now, we need to establish a track record of products made from recycled EV batteries in order to establish quality and safety standards,” said a ministry official.

“Discarded EV batteries can cause environmental problems, but they can be part of a business model if recycled properly. We expect the collaboration among related companies to set the safety and quality standards as well as verifying the economic value of used batteries.”

Write to Sun A Lee and Soo-Young Seong at suna@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.
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