LG Energy Solution, South Korea’s top battery maker, announced Thursday it will create a battery recycling joint venture with Japan’s Toyota Group in the United States. This move aims to build a supply chain for battery materials that does not rely on China, supporting local production.
LG Energy Solution and Toyota Tsusho, the trading arm of Toyota, signed an agreement to form a company called Green Metals Battery Innovations in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The companies did not share details about ownership shares or investment amounts.
The new venture plans to build a facility that will process used electric vehicle (EV) batteries and production scraps. The plant will mainly handle batteries from LG’s local operations supplying Toyota, as well as materials collected by Toyota Tsusho.
The plant is expected to be completed by 2026. Once operational, it will produce up to 13,500 metric tons of “black mass” each year. Black mass is a mixed metal material recovered from used batteries, enough to recycle materials from more than 40,000 EVs annually.
This black mass will then be further refined to extract important cathode materials like nickel, lithium, and cobalt. These materials will be reused in Toyota’s EV production in North America.
Kang Chang-beom, chief strategy officer at LG Energy Solution, said, “This joint venture will not only help secure a steady supply of key battery materials but also boost our recycling business in North America. We are committed to leading the recycling market with innovative and unique technologies.”
The partnership is timely due to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, which restricts tax incentives for vehicles that use materials from certain foreign sources, including China. China currently controls more than 60% of the world’s cobalt and lithium processing capacity, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
LG Energy Solution plans to use Toyota Tsusho’s advanced battery processing expertise to create a local value chain in North America that covers battery production and recycling.
This move is part of LG’s broader circular battery strategy in the region, following the recent bankruptcy of Li-Cycle, once North America’s largest battery recycler. LG Energy Solution and LG Chem previously held a small stake in Li-Cycle.
An LG Energy Solution spokesperson said, “This collaboration is important to strengthen our partnership with Toyota across the full battery lifecycle. We will continue working closely to build a sustainable ecosystem for the North American EV and battery industry.”
