Lithium Ion & EV Battery Recycling & Disposal Services

SK tes understands your battery lifecycle management needs, delivering sustainable global solutions to the world's largest OEMs.

Knowledge and Expertise

Having a deep understanding of local legislation and Basel Convention Regulations on waste and hazardous commodities requires a high level of expertise. We're experts at navigating the complex landscape of waste compliance and hazardous good regulations, enabling us to analyse your supply chain and design solutions that are tailored to your specific needs.

Permits and Notifications

A global agreement, established to decrease the transportation of harmful waste across borders, regulates the movement of batteries. As responsible, international li-ion battery recyclers, we possess notifications, licenses, and export confirmations required to manage compliant and responsible global battery movements.

Global Processing and Logistics Network

With an extensive global processing footprint of owned and operated sites and a network of logistics partners, we provide packaging, collection, storage, consolidation and handling of your lithium-ion batteries around the world.

SUSTAINABILITY

Best-in-Class Recycling Facilities

Advanced, proprietary battery recycling technology transforms discarded batteries into industrial grade metals at SK tes facilities around the world.

Our state-of-the-art equipment, including auto-punching machines and shredders, allows us to break down batteries into high-quality black mass. By doing so, we are able to recover valuable materials such as nickel, lithium and cobalt, which can then be reused in the forward supply chain.

The SK tes process aligns with the principles of the circular economy, creating a closed-loop system where raw materials from end-of-life batteries are repurposed for new products. . Commodities generated include:

Lithium Carbonate
Cobalt Hydroxide
Sodium Sulfate (by-products)
Graphite/Copper/Aluminum

SUSTAINABILITY

Recovering commodity-grade materials from lith-ion batteries

With the global demand for at an all-time high, it is predicted that some resources, such as lithium and cobalt, might become scarce within the next century. These elements are vital components in batteries for electric vehicles and IT devices, making responsible resource management crucial.

SK tes is responsibly recovering these elements during the recycling process of batteries. Our state-of-the-art, environmentally-friendly method produces the highest and purest commodity-grade recovery rates in the industry. By recovering these materials, we can reintroduce them into the supply chain, reducing the need to source new resources. This closed loop solution is cost-effective, safe and sustainable.

An award winning process...

Our award-winning, innovative battery recycling process was acclaimed globally, winning multiple sustainability and innovation awards.

Recognizing leadership and innovation in a sustainability initiatives SK tes has risen above formidable competition to garner recognition . Our battery recycling technology has been honoured to win awards including Sustainability Service of the Year from Business Intelligence Group, SEAL's Business Sustainability Award, the Green Organization's Green World Award, the Edison Award and the UN Global Compact's Apex Award.

280000 +

Our commercial battery recycling facility in Singapore has the capacity to handle 14 tonnes of Lithium-ion batteries or the equivalent of 280,000 smart phones each day.

90 %

If 10kgs of batteries go into our process, we're able to capture 9kgs of usable commodity material in the recycling process - achieving 90% recovery rates.

99 %

The purity of products like cobalt and lithium are 99%. Standards so high they can be purified for reuse in the production of new batteries.

40000 T

SK tes has announced investments in battery recycling facilities will increase capacity to 40,000 tons annually in response to growth in the electric vehicle industry.

Battery recycling - black mass process

Battery recycling - chemical refinement process

Frequently Asked Questions About Battery Recycling

How are lithium-ion batteries transported?

Discarded lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles and IT assets require careful handling. Battery recyclers with expert knowledge will package, collect and transport retired li-ion batteries from your business to their recycling facilities, ready for processing and repurposing.

Batteries are classified as hazardous waste making them subject to international and in-country legislation governing their safe and responsible movement. When transporting batteries it is important to use a solutions provider that understands this area of regulatory compliance.

How are electric vehicle and IT asset batteries recycled?

When batteries arrive at SK tes for repurposing and recycling they are subject to a tracking throughout the process, providing a complete chain of custody and robust audit trail.

Once details have been registered and photographed, residual energy in the batteries is discharged and stored, in some cases directly into energy storage systems used to power the recycling process.

Batteries go through two mechanical processes. The size reduction process involves shredding and hammer milling to make material ready for separation into core components using air and magnetic techniques.

Throughout the process paper and plastics are removed and black mass powder extracted ready for a a chemical process known as hydrometallurgy, which produces graphite, cobalt, hydroxide and lithium carbonate.

Is battery recycling environmentally sustainable?

Yes, the battery recycling process is generally considered to be environmentally sustainable. This is because batteries contain a number of toxic chemicals, such as lead, cadmium, and mercury, that can be harmful to the environment if they are not disposed of properly.

Battery recycling also helps to conserve natural resources. Many of the materials used to make batteries, such as lithium and cobalt, are finite resources that are becoming increasingly scarce. By recycling batteries, these materials can be recovered and reused, reducing the need to extract new resources from the earth.

At SK tes we are committed to sustaining tomorrow and have designed our battery recycling processes to be as environmentally responsible as possible. SK tes delivers the highest recovery rates in the industry with zero discharge of waste water and capturing sodium sulphate by-products.

SK tes uses on-site PV systems to run operations on renewable energy, supplemented by recaptured battery energy in energy storage systems.

What materials are in electric vehicle batteries?

Batteries are an essential component of electric vehicles, and they are typically made from lithium-ion, nickel-metal hydride, or lead-acid. Lithium-ion batteries are the most commonly used.

Lithium-ion batteries are made up of several cells, each containing a positive electrode (made of lithium cobalt oxide or lithium iron phosphate), a negative electrode (made of graphite), and an electrolyte solution (made of lithium salt dissolved in an organic solvent).

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Sustainable Battery Solutions

Global handling, transportation, reuse and recycling of lithium-ion batteries. Our global, closed-loop solutions recover valuable materials and revenue for your business.