The Korean companies SungEel and Samsung C&T are planning to build a battery recycling plant in Germany. The joint venture (JV) intends to invest around 45 million euros, creating around 100 new jobs in Gera, Thuringia. If the market develops positively, a total of up to 74 million euros could flow into the project by the end of this decade. Earlier in 2023, a similar recycling project for lithium-ion batteries in Rudolstadt-Schwarza, Thuringia, failed.
Annual recycling capacity of 22,000 tons
The JV’s facility in Gera’s industrial park is planned to recycle 22,000 tons of batteries per year. Construction on the area of around 30,000 square meters is scheduled to start in March 2024. The companies plan to put the first of two production lines into operation in the first quarter of 2025, followed by the second line in the first quarter of 2027. The process involves the dismantling, crushing, and drying of old batteries, followed by mechanical separation of the materials to eventually recover valuable raw materials. The partners also plan to provide their own disposal solution for the production wastewater.
