Hong Kong opens first EV battery recycling plant

Hong Kong's first electric vehicle battery recycling facility held its opening ceremony, ending the city's reliance on overseas disposal.

It is expected to process 10,000 tonnes of EV battery packs annually from around 20,000 cars.

Located in Tuen Mun EcoPark, the 100,000 square foot plant by Envision Greenwise will utilize automated technology to transform retired electric vehicle batteries into "black mass".

Black mass is a metal-rich fine powder containing high amounts of critical minerals, such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel, which can be used in the making of new EV batteries.

Kwok Ho-yee, COO at Greenwise Envision said, "all the black mass will be sent to battery manufacturers, and then it can directly retrieve all the material. It's better than mining of coal and that's why this is very environmentally-friendly for the black mass to be retrieved. Then after that, we will send it back to China."

The company aims to provide a localized and fully traceable closed-loop solution to EV battery recycling. The city no longer has to export its retired batteries to Japan and South Korea, which was quite costly and caused more carbon emissions.

In a video address at the ceremony, Chief Executive John Lee said that the

plant creates a new driving force for Hong Kong's green economic development.

Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan said that there are currently over 170,000 EVs in Hong Kong and it is believed that the facility will promote the development of green technology in the Guangdong-Hong

Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area as EVs become more widespread.

As the city marks its shift from a cinsumer to a circular economy hub for the green transport industry, representatives believe this facility will provide a high-value and safe way to recycle batteries.