SEOUL, June 19 (Yonhap) — LG Energy Solution, South Korea’s leading battery manufacturer, said Thursday it has signed a deal with Toyota Tsusho Corp., a trading company under Japan’s Toyota Group, to set up a battery recycling joint venture (JV) in the United States.
The new company, Green Metals Battery Innovations LLC, will be located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and will carry out pre-processing operations to extract black mass, which contains valuable metals such as nickel, cobalt and lithium, by dismantling and shredding battery production scrap, according to LG Energy Solution.
LG Energy Solution will supply scrap generated during the manufacturing of electric vehicle (EV) batteries for Toyota Motor Corp.
The extracted black mass will later undergo a separate post-processing stage to recover the raw materials, which will then be reused as recycled inputs for new battery materials.
Construction of the new facility is scheduled to begin later this year, with operations expected to start in 2026. The plant will have an annual processing capacity of 13,500 tons of scrap — equivalent to more than 40,000 automotive batteries.
LG Energy Solution said the partnership with Toyota Tsusho, a leading battery recycler known for its advanced pre-processing technologies and operational expertise, will help strengthen its recycling infrastructure in North America.
“This joint venture will not only help secure a stable supply of key battery materials but also enhance the competitiveness of our recycling business in North America,” said Kang Chang-beom, chief strategy officer (CSO) of LG Energy Solution.
Officials from LG Energy Solution and Toyota Tsusho Corp. pose for a photo after signing an agreement to set up a battery recycling joint venture in the United States in this undated photo provided by the South Korean company. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
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