LG Chem invests ￦29 billion in battery recycling company Jae Young Tech

LG Chem is investing 29 billion won ($22.5 million) in Jae Young Tech, a local battery recycling company.

Lee Sang-hyub, second from left, head of corporate strategy at LG Chem, and Jae Young Tech CEO Park Jae-ho, third from left, pose for a photo during a signing ceremony held on Tuesday at the LG Twin Tower building in Yeouido, western Seoul. [LG CHEM]

LG Chem is investing 29 billion won ($22.5 million) in Jae Young Tech, a local battery recycling company.

With the signing of the equity deal, LG Chem will acquire a one-digit share of Jae Young Tech, but the exact figure has not been disclosed.

The two companies plan to build a joint recycling plant in North America by the end of 2023.

LG Chem will develop the business model and oversee the project in general, while Jae Young Tech will be in charge of the technical part of the business, such as designing the recycling plant.

Founded in 2016, Jae Young Tech is a Gumi, North Gyeongsang-based company specializing in battery recycling. It extracts high-purity nickel from used electric vehicle (EV) batteries or scrap nickel generated at battery-making plants.

The company heats the used battery materials to recover lithium first, then extracts manganese, cobalt and nickel. The method enables a higher lithium recovery rate of over 85 percent compared to the more widely used method of dissolving used batteries, according to LG Chem.

“Through the equity investment, we will establish a foundation to enter the global battery recycling business,” said Lee Sang-hyub, head of corporate strategy at LG Chem.

Last year, LG Chem and LG Energy Solution acquired a 2.6 percent share of Li-Cycle, a Canadian battery recycling company, for 60 billion won.

The signing ceremony was held on Tuesday at the LG Twin Tower building in Yeouido, western Seoul.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]