Blue Industrial Development is pushing to enter the battery recycling business.
Blue Industrial Development said on the 2nd that it recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to acquire the battery recycling division from a secondary battery corporations. Blue Industrial Development plans to conduct due diligence soon, negotiate specific terms, and sign a main contract.
Blue Industrial Development plans to expand its portfolio into the high value-added battery recycling sector, building on the operational capabilities it has accumulated through existing wastepaper-related businesses. The company said it is pursuing the acquisition of the division in light of the expected expansion of the electric vehicle and energy storage system (ESS) markets.
According to Blue Industrial Development, the division has a site within the Saemangeum National Industrial Complex, a raw material procurement network, and resource recovery technology. The division is said to have experience in collecting and distributing waste batteries, a nationwide raw material sourcing base, and patents related to lead battery pre-processing and post-processing.
Blue Industrial Development plans to use a 15,000-square-meter site in the Saemangeum Industrial Complex as a core hub for the circular resource utilization of end-of-life batteries. It also plans to push follow-up facility investments.
It is also considering phased business expansion. First, it plans to secure cash flow by leveraging its existing waste battery collection and distribution base and capabilities related to lead batteries, and then to establish a lithium-ion end-of-life battery pre-processing line and a black mass production system centered on the Saemangeum hub.
In the mid to long term, it is also said to be reviewing plans to expand into the selection of reusable batteries, the use of energy storage systems (ESS), and the recovery of critical minerals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese.