Urban Lithium Signs MOU with Bitsrocell for Spent Battery Recycling Business

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] Urban Lithium announced on the 31st that it is visualizing its entry into the urban mining business, a lithium extraction project utilizing waste lithium batteries. To this end, it signed a business memorandum of understanding (MOU) with primary battery manufacturer Bitsrocell.

Through this agreement, Bitsrocell will collect waste lithium batteries domestically and internationally and supply them to Urban Lithium, which will use them to produce lithium carbonate, the raw material for battery-grade lithium hydroxide.

Bitsrocell, established in 1987 as a primary battery specialist company, recently entered the secondary battery business to secure new growth engines. It is currently carrying out a government project to develop anode materials and metallic lithium foil used in next-generation lithium secondary batteries, forming a consortium with 13 institutions including LG Energy Solution.

Urban Lithium added lithium-related business to its business objectives last year. Its first step is to enter the urban mining business using waste lithium batteries.

An Urban Lithium official stated, “Based on Dr. Jeon Woong’s waste battery lithium extraction technology (CUBLX) and lithium carbonate advanced refining technology (CULC), we plan to proceed with waste lithium battery recycling and low-purity lithium carbonate refining business.”

Meanwhile, Lithium Plus plans to expand its business area to the high-purity metallic lithium manufacturing business, a core material for lithium primary batteries and lithium all-solid-state batteries, through collaboration with Bitsrocell.

A company official said, “This agreement is expected to create business synergy between lithium material demand companies that rely entirely on imports and lithium raw material production companies,” adding, “This will greatly contribute to securing national competitiveness in the long term.”

According to statistics from the Korea International Trade Association, the proportion of Chinese-made lithium hydroxide, a key raw material for secondary batteries, reached 87% last year. The import amount also recorded $3.23173 billion, about 5.8 times higher than the previous year.