With EV use on the rise, Hong Kong needs a battery recycling facility to tackle mounting environmental problem, experts say
- Hong Kong will have to tackle some 6,000 tonnes of used EV batteries by 2026 as these components reach the end of their lives
- Local firms are keen on setting up battery-recycling facilities, with some even interested in repurposing them, giving them another lease of life, EPD official says
Hong Kong should consider building a battery-recycling facility as it faces the prospect of sustainably processing 6,000 tonnes of retired batteries by 2026 amid a surge in electric vehicles (EVs), according to experts.
Considering the rapid EV adoption rate in Hong Kong, it is time a battery-recycling scheme is introduced to ensure their proper disposal, said David Lai Kwok-wai, principal environmental protection officer at the Environment Protection Department’s (EPD) waste management and strategy group.
“We have sounded out recyclers, and many local firms are interested to set up a plant to recycle waste batteries, with a few also interested in repurposing them for a second-life use,” Lai told a conference hosted by the Business Environment Council on Thursday.
Currently, dismantled EV batteries have to be registered by car workshops as chemical waste with the EPD. They have to also take care of proper labelling, storage and delivery by licensed collectors to authorised waste disposal facilities, where they are discharged, insulated, packaged and exported to recycling plants overseas.
Spent EV batteries can be used to store energy in electricity grids that are increasingly being supplied by wind and solar energy to help meet demand.