This undated photo shows SK Innovation’s battery production facility in Korea. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, March 30 (Korea Bizwire) — An U.S. research institute has recognized SK Innovation Co.’s newly developed battery recycling technology as ‘eco-friendly’.
The South Korean EV battery maker reported that Argonne National Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy multidisciplinary science and engineering research center, made an assessment via its Battery Lifecycle Analysis that the company’s new recycling technology significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions by reusing used batteries instead of mining natural resources.
This new technology can be employed to extract lithium from old batteries in the form of lithium hydroxide, followed by metals such as nickel, cobalt, and manganese.
SK Innovation has developed an exclusive technology that improves on the recovery rate and purity of the recycling process, and is currently working on its commercialization.
The new technology has reduced gas emissions by approximately 74 percent compared to traditional mining methods.
The technology is also capable of reducing 39 to 47 percent of gas emissions when producing cathode materials that make up the battery’s core.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
