On August 16th, Doosan Enerbility announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Daegu Metropolitan City on investing in an eco-friendly battery recycling facility. In attendance at the MOU signing ceremony that was held at the Daegu City Hall in Sangyeok-dong were key figures from the related parties, including Joonpyo Hong, Mayor of Daegu City, and Yeonin Jung, President & COO of Doosan Enerbility.
As stipulated in the MOU, Doosan Enerbility will be building a facility for extracting high-purity lithium carbonate, a key material used in secondary batteries, on the grounds of the Daegu National Industrial Complex which is located near a large cathode material plant. Daegu Metropolitan City will be providing support in the following areas ▲Provision of site on which to build the facility, ▲Provision of infrastructure and granting of construction & environmental permits, ▲Cooperation on administrative support and policies, such as moving in to facility, as well as financial and manpower support.
Doosan Enerbility had accomplished the feat of developing its own technology for extracting lithium from waste batteries in 2021, which was soon followed by a successful demonstration project. At the board of directors meeting that was convened last month, the battery recycling company “Doosan Recycle Solution” was officially established. Doosan Recycle Solution will be commencing construction of its manufacturing facility early next year, with the goal being to have the capacity to process approximately 3,000 tons of materials for lithium extraction per year starting in the second half of 2025.
“We will be building the facility on the grounds of the Daegu National Industrial Complex, which is in a prime location near a large cathode material manufacturing plant,” said Yeonin Jung, Doosan Enerbility’s President & COO. “With this MOU, we will be able to swiftly apply Doosan Recycle Solution’s lithium extraction technology, which in turn will contribute to promoting the secondary battery industry.”
Doosan Enerbility’s lithium extraction technology involves applying heat treatment to the internal materials of waste batteries, with distilled water being used to separate the lithium and crystallization technology being applied to extract the lithium carbonate. Compared to the conventional methods, this eco-friendly chemical-free process is regarded as being more simple and economical, while also providing the advantages of higher lithium purity and high lithium recovery rates.