SK Tes opens battery recycling facility in Europe

SK Tes, a Singapore-based business unit of South Korea’s SK Ecoplant, has opened the doors on a lithium-ion and electric vehicle (EV) battery recycling facility in the Netherlands it says is designed to meet the “surging demand” for battery materials in the EV market.

The new Rotterdam facility, initially some10,000 square meters (107,000 square feet) in size, has been designed to grow to 40,000 square meters (nearly 430,000 square feet) if future market conditions dictate it.

The plant has been equipped to process up to 10,000 metric tons of battery materials annually, with plans to double that capacity by expanding onto an adjacent plot.

The facility deploys what SK Tes calls “an industry-leading inert crushing and vacuum drying process to safely recycle lithium and EV batteries, as well as battery production scrap.”

“SK Tes has worked closely with automotive OEMs and battery manufacturers to understand their needs and ensure we remain at the forefront of recycling technology,” says Thomas Holberg, chief operating officer of SK Tes. “We have already begun receiving equipment from many of our clients and expect to fill the plant’s capacity swiftly. We are committed to meeting the need of our customers and playing our part in accelerating the transition to a more sustainable, low-carbon future.”

The company, which also has a global presence in the electronics recycling and IT asset disposition (ITAD) sector, says the European facility “represents a substantial investment in addressing the material needs of the EV market.”

The firm says byproducts generated in the battery manufacturing process, discarded EV batteries and recalled batteries “can be safely processed” at the facility in Rotterdam.

At the plant, SK Tes says it extracts black mass, the intermediate processed product that contains lithium, cobalt and nickel that can be fed back into the battery supply chain.

“By recovering valuable materials from used batteries, SK Tes mitigates the environmental impact of battery disposal and supports the growing demand for scarce raw materials required for manufacturing new batteries,” states the company.

SK Tes describes Western Europe as a key part of the global EV battery industry. The recycling company cites McKinsey as forecasting demand for lithium-ion batteries in the European Union will reach 1.1 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2030, accounting for more than 23 percent of global demand. The same forecast says the EU will have the ability to supply some 1.25 TWh of batteries.

In addition to Rotterdam, SK Tes is working to develop battery recycling capacity in Southern and Eastern Europe. In Asia, SK Tes recently completed an EV battery recycling plant in Yancheng, China, and plans to complete an EV battery recycling operation in Newcastle, Australia, later this year.

“The SK Tes Rotterdam Battery Recycling Plant is located in a key logistics hub in Western Europe, and it was developed utilizing a combination of SK Tes’ innovative waste battery recycling technology and environmentally friendly approach,” Holberg says.

The plant’s location at the Port of Rotterdam, Europe’s largest seaport, “improves the efficiency and sustainability of SK Tes’ operations by facilitating the efficient transportation of materials,” says the recycling firm.

“The opening of SK Tes’ new battery recycling facility is an important step forward for the Port of Rotterdam,” says Boudewijn Siemons, CEO of the port agency. “The Port aims to play a leading role internationally in the energy transition as well as in the raw materials transition. SK Tes’ innovative new facility ticks both boxes and is part of a new industrial landscape, recycling materials that are crucial for the energy transition.”

SK Tes has notified customers and industry allies that it intends to host a grand opening ceremony at the Rotterdam facility Thursday, Sept. 26. The company will conduct a ribbon cutting ceremony and offer guided tours of the plant for invited guests.