A joint venture (JV) has been established between Korean refining and recycling companies SK Innovation and SungEel HiTech. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the two companies outlines the creation of a recycling facility in Korea which will extract cobalt, nickel, manganese, and lithium from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries. The recycled materials will then be used in cathode production processes for electric vehicle batteries. The JV will be launched in 2023 and is expected to be operational by 2025, with details on the investment size and stake percentages yet to be confirmed.

The JV brings together two firms with particular expertise in battery recycling. SK Innovation has been pioneering an industry-leading lithium hydroxide recovery process since 2017, and after having tested the technology at its Daejeon testing facility last year, will commercialise the technology for the first time in Korea as part of the JV. SungEel HiTech has received significant investor attention since…

 

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Image credit: SK On