How is Singapore’s Green Li-ion closing the loop for sustainable battery production?

Batteries are a key component in the global transition away from fossil fuels. As production increases, attention is turning to what happens once the batteries reach the end of their life.

Rather than winding up in landfills, where they pose a toxic hazard to humans and the environment, used batteries are becoming a valuable commodity as efforts to retrieve the critical materials within them – including lithium, cobalt and nickel – gather pace.

Green Li-ion is on a mission to close the loop for sustainable battery production with cutting-edge technology that addresses the environmental challenges posed by lithium-ion batteries. Founded in Singapore in 2020, the company has expanded rapidly into the US, Germany, South Korea and Australia with modular solutions that offer a new approach to waste management in the battery sector.

With Green Li-ion’s patented multi-cathode processor technology, manufacturers and recyclers can convert all types of spent batteries into usable materials onsite, turning end-of-life batteries into battery-grade materials for new cathodes and anodes.

Local recycling reduces the need for imported materials and should help to control the cost of batteries, which account for roughly one-third of the total cost of an electric vehicle.¹ It will also help ease a potential supply shortage as demand for new batteries increases.² Lithium production levels need to increase by 270% by 2030 to meet forecast demand from the EV battery sector, according to S&P Global.³

Policy and legislation are also driving battery manufacturers to focus on material recovery and recycled content. The European Union has led the way by introducing a new law on battery recycling, with targets for recovering cobalt, lithium and nickel to be introduced gradually from 2025.⁴

Europe is also considering measures to restrict the export of used batteries, with a view to keeping the valuable materials they contain within their own borders.⁵ Battery materials recycled in the US qualify as American-made for subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act, driving demand from the US auto industry.⁶

To serve this growing market, Green Li-ion is opening a manufacturing facility in Oklahoma to jumpstart battery recycling in the US.⁷ The company says it is also rapidly expanding its presence in Southeast Asia, Europe, North America and Australia.⁸

“Batteries are a critical component in the energy transition, but the current supply chain is full of potential pitfalls. A domestic supply chain utilising battery recycling can boost bottom lines, reduce carbon footprints, and mitigate human rights concerns,” said Green Li-ion CEO and Co-Founder Leon Farrant.⁹

In support of that mission, HSBC has extended a green trade facility to Green Li-ion, to be used for payments to the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies involved in producing its recycling modules. The facility will bridge the working capital gap between payments to the EPCs and the collection of revenue from sales of the modules to Green Li-ion’s end customers.

“By pioneering new ways to extract valuable materials from old batteries, Green Li-ion is helping battery companies to take greater control over their critical materials supply. Such pioneering innovation is helpful to accelerate the global transition to a more sustainable future,” said Li Lian Ng, Head of Mid-Market Enterprise, Commercial Banking, HSBC Singapore.

“We are proud to help innovative companies like Green Li-ion move from start-up to scale-up as new business models take shape.”

Today we finance a number of industries that significantly contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. We have a strategy to help our customers to reduce their emissions and to reduce our own. Find out more: https://www.hsbc.com/who-we-are/our-climate-strategy