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Employees recycle batteries from electric vehicles at Paersen Environmental Technology’s workshop in Weinan, in China’s Shaanxi province. Photo: VCG via Getty Images

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.

The adoption of electric vehicles in Hong Kong is increasing rapidly. Photo: May Tse

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.

EVs accounted for 62 per cent of new cars registered in Hong Kong in the first four months of this year, up from 52.8 per cent last year and 6.3 per cent in 2019, according to Transport Department data. EVs now account for 8.4 per cent of all private cars in the city.

Importing retired EV batteries into the mainland is illegal, while towing cars from Hong Kong to the mainland to swap spent batteries with new ones costs more than paying licensed firms to export them overseas, said Raymond Cheung, CEO of JC Motor, the exclusive distributor of Chinese EV maker BYD in Hong Kong.

EV makers, dealers and consumers all need to bear responsibility and costs for more sustainable consumption of batteries, he said, adding a consumer-side levy should be considered to help finance a recycling facility in Hong Kong.

Anthony Yan, a senior scientist at China Everbright Green Technology Innovation Research Institute, a unit of China Everbright Environment Group, said Hong Kong will have to handle some 6,000 tonnes of retired batteries by 2026.

“Hong Kong’s battery waste will increase dramatically after 2026,” he said. “We need to consider the location for a recycling facility, build a pilot line and pick the recycling technology pathway.”

Between 2017 and 2021, an annual average of 24 tonnes of lithium batteries from vehicles were processed by licensed disposal facilities in Hong Kong, according to the EPD. Four licensed facilities have an aggregate capacity to process and export 12,000 tonnes of waste batteries annually.

Battery glut: China’s supply of electric-car batteries to far exceed demand

However, exporting waste batteries does not solve the issue of sustainability since shipping gives rise to additional greenhouse gas emissions, said Walter Van Hattum, the head of trade and economic section at the EU Office to Hong Kong and Macau.

From July next year, EV batteries in the EU must be accompanied by a carbon footprint declaration, and emission caps will be introduced from 2027, followed by minimum percentages for recycled metals in 2030.

Due to resource and regulatory limitations, Hong Kong can consider building a facility for dismantling and crushing batteries and recovering plastic, copper, aluminium and electrolytes, with the residue sent to the mainland for recovering lithium, cobalt and nickel, Everbright’s Yan said.

The government plans to implement a market-based model to regulate recycling of EV batteries to lower costs, said the EPD’s Lai.

Market forces should not be the only driver, said Daniel Cheng Man-chung, managing director of environmental firm Dunwell Technology (Holdings).

“If we leave it entirely to the market, recyclers will pick the easiest wastes with the highest value,” he said. “The manufacturers should bear much of the responsibility since they are more knowledgeable about their products.”

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