The Korea Transportation Safety Authority announced on the 17th that it has launched a national research and development project to revitalize the post-use electric vehicle battery resource industry. They plan to establish a step-by-step performance evaluation and safety inspection system to have an integrated safety management system for remanufactured batteries by 2027.
Post-use batteries refer to batteries that were installed in electric vehicles but have reached the end of their use due to vehicle scrapping, recalls, or replacement. The Authority aims to establish performance evaluation standards before removal in the first phase of this project. Based on the evaluation results, batteries that can be used as traction batteries for electric vehicles will be classified as "remanufactured," those used as batteries for purposes other than traction batteries will be classified as "reused," and those that cannot be used as batteries for storing electrical energy or similar storage media will be classified as "recycled."
At the LG Energy Solution exhibition hall at InterBattery 2025 held last March, a model of the underside of an electric vehicle equipped with the 46-series battery was on display. Photo by Yonhap News
The second phase involves a pre-distribution safety inspection. It will mandate safety inspections before vehicles equipped with remanufactured batteries suitable for use as traction batteries in electric vehicles operate, to ensure safe operation. The third phase is post-installation inspection. Regular post-installation inspections will be conducted on electric vehicles operating with post-use batteries to check whether safety and quality are maintained.
The Authority expects that establishing this three-phase management system will strengthen safety management throughout the battery lifecycle. Additionally, they plan to create a new industrial ecosystem by establishing a virtuous cycle system for post-use battery resources. Separate standards for storage and transportation will also be introduced to safely handle post-use batteries.
Jung Yong-sik, Chairman of the Korea Transportation Safety Authority, said, "With the advent of the electric vehicle era, the development of safety inspection and remanufactured battery circulation system safety management technologies for post-use batteries will be an important opportunity to secure core technologies for creating a post-use battery ecosystem."
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