The number of electrical vehicles, both domestic and overseas, is continually increasing. Recognizing this trend, GS E & C will enter a new business related to secondary battery recycling. It will also become the first large company to invest in a special regulation-free zone for next-generation battery recycling in Pohang after its designation in July of last year. This is expected to contribute to win-win development and job creation in local communities.
GS E & C announced on the 9th that President Moon Jae-in along with Vice Chairman of GS E&C Lim Byeong-yong, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province Lee Cheol-woo, and Mayor of Pohang Lee Gang-deok attended a ceremony to mark GS E&C’s investment in the special regulation-free zone for next-generation battery recycling. The ceremony attendees also included numerous government and Blue House officials such as the Minister of SMEs and Startups, the Chairman of the Presidential Committee for Balanced National Development, Chief Secretary to the President for National Policy, the Senior Presidential Secretary for Job Creation, and the Senior Presidential Secretary for Economic Affairs, in addition to National Assembly members, local officials and businessmen, which helped increase interest in the project.
GS E & C announced an investment plan for secondary battery recycling and related projects on the 120,000 m2 (about 36,000 pyeong) site of the special regulation-free zone for next-generation battery recycling located within the Pohang Yeongil-man 4 General Industrial Complex. GS E & C will initially invest approximately KRW 100 billion by 2022 to build and operate a facility to recover 4,500 tons of nickel, cobalt, lithium, and manganese annually from used batteries. Following the first investment a second investment will be made that will expand the capacity to 10,000 tons per year. An announcement was made of a plan to expand into upstream and downstream industries.
GS E & C intends to recover core materials such as nickel, manganese, cobalt, and lithium from used secondary batteries through battery recycling facilities in order to prevent waste of resources and environmental pollution, in addition to securing materials that are usually imported.
In particular, the battery recycling industry is in the spotlight as a promising next-generation project in advanced countries due to the expansion of the use of electrical vehicles. According to Bloomberg, by 2040, more than half of new cars and one-third of the world’s vehicles will be electric and the battery recycling market will grow to about KRW 600 trillion by 2050.
In addition, according to the survey on domestic electric vehicle supply and battery replacement cycle, the number of secondary batteries is estimated to total about 5.76 million, including 10,000 units per year in 2024, 100,000 units per year in 2031, and 690,000 units per year in 2040. In addition, the battery industry’s raw material costs account for about 40% of the total costs, suggesting that the recycling industry’s business potential is very high.GS E&C plans to secure an axis of new growth by investing in next-generation battery recycling-related projects. According to GS E&C, about 90% of its employees are engineers, of which more than half are electrical, electronic, chemical, mechanical and material engineers. Leveraging these human resources, GS E&C has decided to enter the next-generation battery recycling business as it has the technology and experience gleaned from the construction of the chemical plants. In particular, since the key to the success of the business depends on the high purity of the metal recovered from the battery, GS E&C expects to gain the best technology in this field.
GS E&C anticipates that the first round of investment will create about 300 high-quality local jobs, and that it will contribute to revitalize the region’s economy by increasing employment as the investment expands.
Vice Chairman of GS E&C Lim Byeong-yong stated, “Through this investment, we will secure the best process technology and products that are internationally competitive, and revitalize the local economy by creating jobs, while at the same time reduce dependence on imports of battery raw materials.” “GS E & C will make efforts to expand into new businesses in various fields by utilizing its abundant human resources. ”
Source: gsenc.com
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