Used Electric Vehicle Batteries Freely Bought and Sold... Industry Proposal Submitted to Government

Battery Alliance Submits Integrated Management System Plan to Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

In the future, a trading market is expected to be created where qualified private companies can freely buy and sell used batteries from electric vehicles.

Battery Alliance, which includes the three battery companies LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI, and SK On, as well as Hyundai Motor Company, Hyundai Glovis, Sungil Hightech, PM Grow, Inseon Motors, and the Korea Battery Industry Association, submitted an industry proposal for an 'Integrated Management System for Used Batteries' along with supporting legislation to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on the morning of the 14th. The Ministry plans to accept industry opinions and coordinate with related ministries such as the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Environment, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to submit a government proposal related to used batteries to the National Assembly.

The Battery Alliance, composed of the three battery companies, automakers, battery remanufacturing, reuse, recycling sectors, the vehicle dismantling industry, and the insurance industry, has prepared industry opinions on the integrated management system and support measures for used electric vehicle batteries since September last year, and submitted the results to the government on this day. The Battery Alliance also proposed the 'Act on Stabilization of Supply Chain and Promotion of Utilization of Electric Vehicle Batteries' (tentative name) to implement the integrated management system.

Until now, electric vehicle batteries have been managed as 'general business waste' under the Waste Management Act. However, used batteries separated from electric vehicles can be remanufactured by repairing or replacing some cells and reinstalled in vehicles, or repurposed as energy storage systems (ESS), making it inefficient to manage them uniformly as waste.

The industry proposal submitted on this day newly defines used batteries as 'electric vehicle batteries separated from electric vehicles that are subject to remanufacturing, reuse, or recycling,' rather than as 'waste.' The industry also suggested establishing mechanisms to allow various private businesses to emerge that can trade used batteries.

First, to encourage participation from capable businesses, a business registration system was proposed. Businesses are classified into three types according to the stages of acquisition (removal), sale, and utilization of used batteries, with essential competencies set as qualification requirements for businesses, and all transaction results are to be registered in a government system. Shin Yong-min, Director of the Battery and Electronics Division at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, explained, "If the system is established according to industry opinions, various businesses such as battery leasing and replacement operators, transportation and storage operators, and others can emerge."

On the 14th, at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry EC Room in Jung-gu, Seoul, Jang Young-jin, the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (center right in the photo), received a proposal on the 'Establishment Plan for an Integrated Used Battery Management System' from Park Jin-won, Vice President of LG Energy Solution (center left in the photo), and took a commemorative photo with the attendees.

The introduction of a battery passport system to strengthen the battery supply chain was also proposed. The industry proposal requires businesses handling and distributing batteries to input battery composition and identification information, usage information during operation, transaction results, and performance and safety inspection results into an integrated history management system throughout the battery lifecycle.

The accumulated information can be primarily used to create a healthy trading market and strengthen the battery supply chain and safety. Some information is expected to be provided to battery manufacturers and others as key data for improving battery performance and technological development. The industry proposed establishing a dedicated professional organization to systematically manage and utilize the integrated history management system. It also included the introduction of a recycled raw material usage target system that mandates the use of a certain percentage or more of recovered recycled minerals when manufacturing new batteries.

The industry proposal also includes a safety management system for batteries. Currently, safety regulations vary by battery condition and product, are scattered across individual regulations, or in many cases, there are regulatory gaps. To establish a sustainable and systematic safety management system for used batteries, the proposal suggests a three-stage inspection system: pre-use inspection (after battery removal), product safety inspection (after manufacturing into products such as ESS), and post-installation inspection (after product installation).

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy plans to collect industry opinions and coordinate with related ministries to promote government legislation. Coordination with the Ministry of Environment, which has managed used electric vehicle batteries through the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the main ministry for electric vehicles, is necessary. Lee Yong-il, Director of the Advanced Industry Division at the Ministry, stated, "We plan to submit an integrated government proposal through discussions with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Environment, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport."

Jang Young-jin, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said, "We will actively promote discussions with related ministries and the National Assembly to ensure that the industry proposal becomes a representative successful model of a dynamic economy led by the private sector and supported by the government, and we will also proceed with the prompt enactment of the legislation."

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