New KGS facility to add 2,600 tonnes of battery recycling capacity annually
Elysia Tan
E-WASTE and battery recycler KGS opened its first battery recycling plant on Tuesday (Oct 24), which will be able to process about 2,600 tonnes of feedstock annually at maximum capacity.
As the third battery recycling plant in Singapore, it will add to the existing 8,600 tonnes of battery recycling capacity and bring local capacity to more than 11,000 tonnes, marking a more than 30 per cent increase. Built vertically for greater space efficiency, it is able to process dismantled and shredded batteries into “black mass” for further refinement.
The new facility will build resilience in the local battery recycling industry, as well as capacity and capabilities in the sector, said Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Amy Khor.
“(This) is important in view of the rising volume of end-of-life EV (electric vehicle) batteries that’s expected, as well as end-of-life lithium-ion batteries from ICT (information and communications technology) equipment that we expect from wider digitalisation,” she added.
In the near term, KGS aims to operate the plant for about eight hours a day, amounting to a processing capacity of up to three tonnes per day, said executive director Andrew Tay.
Co-founder T Max said that KGS hopes to achieve this goal within the next six months. KGS is collecting about 20 tonnes of batteries per month at present, but Max added that it has suppliers lined up and has signed memoranda of understanding.
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As a next step, the battery recycler is also looking to go beyond black-mass recycling to extraction – refining it further into cobalt and lithium, which will require “more highly-skilled people”.
“There is a margin that can be uncovered, by processing it into the raw materials... which could be used as raw materials to make new batteries,” said Tay. “So the value is higher.”
While KGS is keen to expand and scale up, it is mindful to do so in tandem with the supply of feedstock. With a limited local supply, KGS is looking to import from neighbouring countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.
“If the numbers make sense, we are also looking to replicate what we have here over there, and reduce the volume of items to be shipped around,” Tay noted.
A “hub-and-spoke” model could also come into play, said Max, with the processes that are more expensive and need a lot of research and development to be based in Singapore.
Dr Khor highlighted that the recycling process creates opportunities for research, collaboration and innovation. By facilitating the reuse of materials to make new batteries, it will also conserve resources, she added: “So there is both a positive economic as well as environmental impact.”
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