Seoul: Hyundai Motor Group announced that it has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a Chinese firm to advance battery recycling initiatives in Indonesia. The collaboration aims to enhance the recycling of battery production scraps and used electric vehicle (EV) batteries, contributing to a more sustainable battery supply chain.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the South Korean automotive giant will partner with Zhejiang Huayou Recycling Technology, a subsidiary of China's Huayou Cobalt. Under the agreement, Hyundai will send production scraps from its battery cell plant in Indonesia, a joint venture with LG Energy Solution Ltd., to be processed into black mass. Black mass is a substance that can be refined to retrieve essential battery materials like lithium, cobalt, and nickel for further use in battery manufacturing.
The partnership also focuses on recycling used EV batteries, as the importance of recycled materials continues to rise in the EV battery supply chain. "The agreement marks an initial step toward establishing a circular battery economy that spans the entire battery life cycle. We will continue efforts to build a sustainable battery supply chain," a Hyundai official stated.