South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution Ltd. said Tuesday it has set up a joint venture with China's Huayou Cobalt Co. for battery recycling, as it diversifies supply channels to secure the stable sourcing of key raw materials.
The agreement, signed Monday, commits the two to building two factories in China -- one for the pre-treatment of battery scraps and used batteries and the other for the extraction of metals in post-processing, LGES said in a release.
The pre-treatment plant will be located in Nanjing, in China's eastern Jiangsu Province, while the post-processing plant will be built in Quzhou, a city in western Zhejiang Province.
LGES has a manufacturing site in Nanjing and Huayou is headquartered in Zhejiang.
LGES did not disclose details of the terms of the agreement, including the transaction.
Extracted metals will be reprocessed into cathode materials, a key component in lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. The output from the recycling plants will be delivered to LGES' Nanjing factory.
LGES said the new venture with Huayou will "help ensure and strengthen the supply of raw materials in a stable and sustainable way through establishing a virtuous cycle of resources."
The construction of the two factories will begin this year. They plan to go into operation in late 2024, LGES said. (Yonhap)
