Doosan, LG, POSCO vie for larger share in secondary battery recycling market

[Courtesy of Doosan Enerbility]

South Korean conglomerates are eyeing the bourgeoning waste battery industry for future growth as they allow them to secure elements such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese - crucial components of secondary batteries.

Doosan Enerbility Co., a manufacturer of nuclear reactors under Doosan Group, announced Thursday that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Daegu Metropolitan City on Wednesday on the construction of an environmentally-friendly battery material recycling manufacturing facility.

Under the MoU, Doosan Enerbility will begin construction of a manufacturing facility at the Daegu National Industrial Complex in the first half of next year. The company plans to extract lithium by processing approximately 3,000 tons of black powder annually starting in the second half of 2025.

Doosan Enerbility in a board meeting last month established Doosan Recycle Solution, a company dedicated to recycling waste batteries.

Discarded batteries are gaining focus as they are considered a method that allows companies to bypass the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) amid the intensifying supply chain conflict between Washington and Beijing.

The IRA, which is aimed at China, establishes criteria for EV subsidies based on the origin of the minerals utilized in battery production and the nationality of the processing facility.

Given that the origin of black powder derived from crushed waste batteries is not tied to any specific nation, the extracted critical elements such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese from black powder can effectively be labeled as “Made in Korea.”

The landscape of the waste battery recycling sector is bifurcated into two primary phases. The initial stage involves the crushing of discarded and collected batteries into black powder, while the subsequent stage entails the extraction of raw materials needed for cathode production from black powder.

Doosan Group’s venture into the waste battery domain comes with its comprehensive engagement across both pivotal phases.

[Image source: Gettyimagesbank]

Prior to Doosan Group’s entry, POSCO Group had already launched related business, concentrating primarily on the downstream aspect.

POSCO International Corp., a trading arm of POSCO Group, leverages its expansive global network to secure black powder derived from discarded batteries.

The black powder obtained is supplied to POSCO-HY Clean Metal Co., a specialized enterprise in secondary battery recycling, enabling the extraction of vital raw materials.

“While the duration of the IRA’s validity remains uncertain, our recycling of waste batteries offers a responsive strategy,” said POSCO International Vice Chairman Jeong Tak.

LG Energy Solutions Ltd., a major player in secondary battery production, has also announced its entry into the waste battery sector.

The company formally partnered with Huayou Cobalt Co., China’s premier cobalt producer, to establish a collaborative joint venture aimed at waste battery recycling on August 7. The plants in China, set to commence operations by the end of next year, will be located in Nanjing City in Jiangsu Province, and Quzhou City in Zhejiang Province. They will procure cathode materials through the waste battery treatment procedure and supply the materials to LG Energy Solutions‘ battery production facility in Nanjing.

According to market research agency SNE Research, the waste battery recycling market is projected to reach $174.1 billion in 2040, up from $29.9 billion in 2025 and $53.6 billion in 2030.

The anticipated growth comes amid growing demand for new EVs. The waste battery market is also projected to grow to 3.02 million tons in 2040, up from 310,000 tons in 2030.