Possibility and Core Technology for EV Battery Circular Economy Secured Through One-Year Demonstration Project
[Asia Economy Reporter Yu Je-hoon] Kia and SK Innovation have officially launched the establishment of a circular economy model for electric vehicle batteries through a one-year demonstration project.
On the 29th, Kia and SK Innovation announced that they have secured the possibility and technological foundation to create an industrial ecosystem that can environmentally process electric vehicle batteries by recovering metals including lithium from used batteries.
Earlier, in March last year, the two companies signed a "Memorandum of Understanding for Building an Electric Vehicle Battery Industrial Ecosystem" as part of strengthening Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) management, and over the past year, they evaluated the feasibility, effectiveness, and efficiency of recovering metal substances from used batteries through a recycling demonstration project.
Accordingly, Kia will evaluate used batteries using a battery performance evaluation system, and batteries with excellent residual performance will be reused as energy storage systems (ESS) by dividing them into modules or packs at the Hyundai Motor Group level.
If the residual performance is low, Kia will disassemble the batteries into cells, and SK Innovation will recover metal resources such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt for cathode materials using its own technology and recycle them into electric vehicle batteries.
Through this, the two companies plan to establish a circular ecosystem for electric vehicle batteries covering the entire process from used battery-related ▲pre-treatment (battery disassembly) ▲metal resource recovery ▲cathode material utilization ▲battery manufacturing ▲vehicle installation. Additionally, they aim to contribute to expanding ESG management by creating various management models for the environmentally friendly processing of used batteries.
Kwon Hyuk-ho, Head of Domestic Business at Kia, said, "Kia and SK Innovation will jointly create a system for using used batteries to strengthen manufacturers' social responsibility and sustainable management in line with the popularization of electric vehicles. We will also apply this process to Kia's first dedicated electric vehicle, the EV6, scheduled for release in the second half of this year, to enhance our position as an eco-friendly mobility brand."
Kim Cheol-jung, Head of Strategy at SK Innovation, said, "Recycling used batteries is one way to respond to the increased demand for metal resources due to the global popularization of electric vehicles, and it can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from production and lessen the environmental burden on the land. Based on this collaboration, we will contribute to expanding the system for utilizing used batteries established in Korea to a global scale."
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