이 기사는 2022년 05월 12일 07:42 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

South Korean investors are increasingly paying attention to the electric vehicle (EV) battery recycling market as battery recycling emerges as the key to supply chain stability and environmental performance in the EV industry.

Ensuring reliable supply of raw materials is one of the biggest challenges in the EV industry. Lithium-ion batteries, mainly used in electric cars today, are made from four major components: an anode, a cathode, a separator and electrolyte. South Korea mostly depends on imports to meet its need for raw materials used to produce these components.

Another important challenge faced by EV battery makers is how to process used batteries in an environmentally sound way.

Batteries represent almost 40% of the cost of EVs. Key metals used in EV batteries, such as nickel and cobalt, are recyclable. Therefore, collecting and recycling used batteries is important for battery makers to enhance cost efficiency.

EV batteries are designed to last five to six years. However, even after six years, used batteries retain about 70% of their initial performance and thus can be used for other applications such as energy storage systems for another few years, according to a report issued by accounting and consulting firm Samil PwC last month.

As a result, it takes about 10 years for EV batteries to be recycled by extracting metals such as nickel, cobalt and manganese. “Metals extracted from used batteries are almost as good as newly mined ones,” an industry expert said. “Battery recycling is important in the battery industry, especially amid rising raw material prices.”

Rising stars in battery recycling

SungEel HiTech is one of the leading battery recycling companies in South Korea. Its recycling technology is as competitive as those of global players like Belgium's Umicore and China’s GEM.

The company counts Hyundai Motor, Hyundai Glovis and Samsung C&T as well as three major South Korean battery makers among its customers. Samsung C&T and several private equity firms including BNW Investment invested in the company.

Jae Young Tech and Sebit Chem, which originally focused on recycling metals from electronic wastes, have expanded their business to include battery recycling in recent years. SungEel HiTech, Jae Young Tech and Sebit Chem are preparing for initial public offerings.

Companies in the EV value chain are also stepping up investment in battery recycling. LG Energy Solution purchased a 2.6% stake in Canada-based lithium-ion battery recycler Li-Cycle earlier this year. SK ecoplant acquired 100% of TES, a Singapore-based electronic waste recycling company, in February. Posco entered the battery recycling market by setting up a joint venture with China’s Huayou Cobalt.

The battery recycling market is still in its early stages. Industry experts expect demand for processing used batteries to start to rapidly increase around 2030 after a sharp increase in EV sales from 2025. SNE Research predicted the used battery market to grow almost thirtyfold from $17.5 billion in 2030 to $500 billion in 2050.

Samil PwC also expected used EV batteries to increase from some 100 units in 2019 to about 80,000 units in 2029 in South Korea. (Reporting by Hye-ran Kim)