Hyundai Glovis invests in local EV battery recycling firm

Used EV batteries are stored at an EV storage center in Siheung, Gyeonggi [KOREA ENVIRONMENT CORPORATION]

Hyundai Glovis, the logistics unit of Hyundai Motor Group, has agreed to invest an undisclosed amount into a local EV battery recycling company.

It announced on Monday that it signed a share subscription agreement with ER.

The share subscription agreement between the two firms, announced Monday, grants Hyundai Glovis exclusive rights to ER's pretreatment technology and facility usage.

"With the equity investment, we will set up footholds in Korea and abroad in Southeast Asia, Europe and North America, and will take charge of the collection and pretreatment of used EV batteries leveraging ER's technology and facilities," the company said Monday.

Hyundai Glovis developed specialized containers for used batteries in 2021 and earned air transport certification for lithium batteries from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Hyundai Motor Group set up a group-level task force for a project to extract rare minerals, such as nickel and cobalt, from used batteries for reuse.

"We are expanding into new territories like electric vehicle battery recycling, going beyond our core focus on logistics, shipping and retail," a company official said. "Our goal is to establish a seamless system, covering collection to pretreatment."

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]