Hyundai Glovis Expands Used Battery Business with Equity Investment in Preprocessing Technology Company

Hyundai Glovis announced on the 22nd that it has signed an equity investment agreement with Eal, a battery recycling specialist company. Eal possesses pre-processing technology for used electric vehicle batteries, and through this agreement, Hyundai Glovis has established a portfolio covering the entire battery recycling business.

Earlier, Hyundai Glovis had been searching for a suitable equity investment target since early last year. After completing due diligence and negotiating terms recently, a formal contract was signed. The investment amount and detailed conditions will not be disclosed. Hyundai Glovis plans to continuously develop and improve pre-processing technology through this investment. Additionally, it intends to directly handle the collection of used batteries discharged in domestic and international markets and pre-process them using Eal’s technology and facilities.

Graphite powder used as raw material for electric vehicle batteries
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The used battery recycling process is divided into pre-processing and post-processing stages. Pre-processing involves physically discharging the remaining power in used batteries, dismantling them, removing impurities, and producing black powder, which is the separated cathode material. Eal holds patented technology and equipment for treating spent lithium-ion batteries using a low-temperature vacuum system. Furthermore, it has eco-friendly process technology that does not generate wastewater or carbon dioxide during pre-processing and recovers electrolytes.

In 2021, Hyundai Glovis developed a dedicated collection container for used batteries. This patented container can hold batteries in multiple layers for simultaneous transportation. It has also obtained lithium battery air transport certification from the International Air Transport Association and is establishing logistics processes that comply with complex battery-related regulations by country.

A company official stated, "The used battery recycling business will establish a full-scale business system with a unified process from collection to pre-processing."

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