Breaking Ground on First Spent Battery Recycling Plant... Pohang Sets Sail as a Mecca of the Secondary Battery Industry

Groundbreaking of Enerma Recycling Plant, GS Construction Subsidiary, at Yeongilman 4 General Industrial Complex

Lee Kang-deok, Mayor of Pohang, "The Steel City Becomes a Secondary Battery City" Accelerates Value Chain Formation

On the 15th, Lee Gang-deok, Mayor of Pohang, and other attendees held a groundbreaking ceremony for GS Construction Enerma's secondary battery recycling plant in Pohang, Gyeongbuk.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Pohang, Gyeongbuk, has boldly set sail toward becoming a hub for the secondary battery industry.

The lithium-ion battery recycling plant has broken ground, marking the start of full-scale construction.

When Enerma, a subsidiary of GS Engineering & Construction, begins operating the plant, it will lay the foundation for domestic production of key battery raw materials.

This means securing the production of expensive secondary battery raw materials such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese, which have so far depended on China.

On the afternoon of the 15th, Gyeongbuk Province and Pohang City held a groundbreaking ceremony for Enerma’s secondary battery recycling plant within the Battery Recycling Regulatory Free Zone in Yeongilman 4 General Industrial Complex, Pohang.

Enerma’s lithium-ion battery recycling plant will be built on a 120,000㎡ site within the Yeongilman 4 General Industrial Complex.

Enerma plans to invest 150 billion KRW by 2023 to produce 4,500 tons annually of rare metals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese. The production volume will later increase to 16,000 tons per year.

GS Engineering & Construction initiated the secondary battery recycling business in earnest last year through a memorandum of understanding signing ceremony attended by President Moon Jae-in in January. GS E&C established its subsidiary Enerma in October of the same year.

The secondary battery recycling business extracts and reproduces key secondary battery raw materials such as nickel and lithium from used batteries or battery scrap generated during manufacturing.

The waste battery recycling market is attracting global attention. Many domestic companies are pursuing research, development, and investment in this field as a next-generation industry.

Pohang City’s focus on the battery recycling business involves technology that extracts expensive key battery raw materials such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese?mostly dependent on China?from used batteries and reproduces them. This business is a “golden egg” that can reduce China’s dependency on battery raw materials and lower battery prices, which account for a large portion of electric vehicle costs.

Pohang aims to become the “Mecca” of the secondary battery industry, beyond being known as the city of steel.

Gyeongbuk Province and Pohang City are promoting the designation of a battery recycling regulatory free zone and the establishment of a used battery resource circulation cluster project to foster the secondary battery industry as a new growth industry.

In October, a secondary battery comprehensive management center for battery demonstration and integrated management will also be built in the Pohang Blue Valley National Industrial Complex.

Mayor Lee Kang-deok of Pohang said, “With the groundbreaking of GS E&C Enerma’s plant, Pohang will form a secondary battery value chain from securing raw materials such as lithium and nickel to producing cathode and anode materials and recycling. This solidifies a competitive advantage differentiated from other cities.”

Governor Lee Cheol-woo of Gyeongbuk Province stated, “Enerma’s investment attraction will be a driving force for Pohang’s new leap as a hub city for the secondary battery materials industry. Gyeongbuk Province will actively support companies entering Pohang to foster future new growth industries.”

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