Hyundai Motor, Chinese firm sign MOU on battery recycling in Indonesia

The Hyundai LG Indonesia Green Power battery plant, a joint venture set up between the group and LG Energy Solution in Indonesia / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group

Hyundai Motor Group said Thursday it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a Chinese company to cooperate in the battery recycling business in Indonesia.

Under the agreement, the Korean automaker will send production scraps generated at its battery cell plant in Indonesia — a joint venture with LG Energy Solution — to Zhejiang Huayou Recycling Technology, an affiliate of China's Huayou Cobalt, where they will be processed into black mass, the company said in a press release.

Used batteries and scrap can be processed into black mass, which can then be refined to extract core battery materials, such as lithium, cobalt and nickel, for reuse in battery manufacturing.

The companies will also collaborate on recycling used electric vehicle (EV) batteries, as recycled materials play an increasingly important role in the EV battery supply chain, it said.

"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 said.