By Kim Seung-yeon
On Tuesday, SK Ecoplant Co., a South Korean builder, announced that it has collaborated with a U.S. waste recycling company to form a joint venture and construct a battery recycling pretreatment plant in the U.S. state of Kentucky.
The factory, located in Hopkinsville, is a partnership between Ascend Elements and SK Ecoplant’s e-waste processing subsidiary, TES. It is scheduled to begin operations in January 2025, with a capacity to produce 12,000 tons of black mass a year.
SK Ecoplant will own 64 percent of the US$65.8 million joint venture, with 11 percent belonging to TES and 25 percent to Ascend Elements.
Black mass is electronic waste consisting of shredded end-of-life battery cells. It contains high amounts of critical battery materials, such as lithium, manganese, cobalt and nickel. These minerals can be extracted from the black mass for reuse in new battery production.
Recycling these materials is believed to be an effective way to reduce the carbon footprint and create a sustainable environment by “closing the loop” in the battery life cycle.
Ascend Elements, a Massachusetts-based company, is currently constructing its first cathode material precursor plant, capable of supplying 750,000 electric vehicles a year.
SK Ecoplant, the construction arm of South Korea’s SK Group, is actively pursuing waste recycling solutions as a new growth engine as it transitions into green businesses.
elly@yna.co.kr
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