SK Innovation Validates Environmental Friendliness of Battery Recycling Technology in the US

Up to 74% Reduction in Greenhouse Gases During Lithium Production and Up to 47% Reduction During Cathode Material Manufacturing
Evaluated as an Eco-Friendly Technology Capable of Drastically Reducing Chemical Usage

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoonju Hwang] SK Innovation's battery metal recycling technology has been found to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As the electric vehicle industry rapidly grows, this breakthrough can fundamentally solve the most pressing issue of used battery disposal, contributing not only to environmental sustainability but also to stabilizing material prices.

On the 29th, SK Innovation announced that its battery metal recycling technology was verified for environmental friendliness through a battery life cycle assessment (LCA) conducted by Argonne National Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) designated national research institute. This technology was developed first in the world by SK Innovation.

Argonne National Laboratory evaluated that replacing natural resource mining with the extraction of battery raw materials using SK Innovation's battery metal recycling technology would significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

According to Argonne National Laboratory, manufacturing lithium hydroxide through SK Innovation's battery metal recycling technology reduces greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 74% compared to lithium mine production methods and by about 41% compared to lithium brine production methods. Additionally, when producing cathode materials, a core component of lithium-ion batteries, the technology lowers greenhouse gas emissions by 47% compared to lithium mine raw materials and by 39% compared to lithium brine raw materials.

The core of this technology is that lithium recovered from used batteries is first extracted in the form of lithium hydroxide so that it can be directly used in manufacturing high-nickel (High Ni) cathode materials such as NCM811, followed by the extraction of NCM metals.

Due to these characteristics, the nickel, cobalt, and manganese recovery technology (known as the conventional wet process) can drastically reduce the use of chemicals, making it a more environmentally friendly and efficient technology. SK Innovation has independently developed this technology for the first time in the world and is preparing for commercialization.

SK Innovation stated, "With the environmental friendliness of this technology confirmed by a globally recognized U.S. national research institute, we expect collaborations between electric vehicle companies and SK Innovation regarding used battery recycling to emerge worldwide."

Argonne National Laboratory, supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, developed a model called GREET that evaluates environmental impacts across the energy and transportation sectors. Through this model, partnerships have been established with automobile manufacturers such as GM, Ford, and Chrysler, as well as energy companies like Exxon, Shell, Chevron, and BP to assess environmental impacts. This evaluation model is recognized as highly credible and has been utilized in legislation related to automobile greenhouse gas reduction by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the state of California.

While batteries themselves are environmentally friendly, the mining process for key battery minerals involves the use of high-temperature chemicals, causing large emissions of atmospheric pollutants such as sulfur oxides (SOx), raising environmental concerns. Consequently, used battery recycling technologies have recently gained global attention.

Nevertheless, most recycling companies' wet process methods to date recover nickel, cobalt, and manganese first, then lithium in the form of lithium carbonate, which is difficult to apply to high-nickel batteries. These methods have been criticized for low recovery rates and purity, limiting recycling effectiveness.

Meanwhile, SK Innovation's battery technology was selected as a participating company in the battery technology evaluation program of the consortium (USABC) formed in 2010 by the U.S. Department of Energy and the three major automakers (Ford, Chrysler, GM) to develop high-performance electric vehicle batteries.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.