South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group and Hanwha Q CELLS under Hanwha Solution, the photovoltaic business arm of Hanhwa Group, have entered a joint venture to recycle used batteries from electric vehicles into energy storage system (ESS).

Hyundai Motor Group that owns Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. and Hanwha Q CELLS said on Sunday that they will jointly develop recycled EV battery-based ESS that is linked to solar energy and forge strategic alliance to run such business globally.

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed at Hanwha Group`s headquarters in Seoul on Friday, where Hyundai Motor Group’s strategic technology division head Ji Young-jo and Hanwha Q CELLS’s CEO Kim Hee-chul were present.

The two will focus on stable supply of eco-friendly energy for home and infrastructure, while leading efforts to preserve environment and resource values by increasing battery utilization.

This cooperation aims to ensure large-scale supply of renewable energy by effectively minimizing the volatility of the supply of renewable energy, while completing the eco-friendly value chain by maximizing the reuse of EV batteries, said Ji.

Based on the agreement, Hyundai Motor Group and Hanwha Q CELLS will start new ESS business that is linked with batteries recovered from EVs with the solar system.

They will jointly develop ESS products to be used at home and large-scale power infrastructure, and Hanwha Q CELLS’ German research center will conduct a demonstration project by using actual solar power plants. The two companies will also jointly discover business opportunities for large-scale ESS projects in connection with solar energy business.

By Lee Jong-hyuk and Minu Kim

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