SK Innovation's independently developed battery metal recycling technology (BMR) is set to enter the global market through licensing. The company aims to secure a differentiated competitive edge in the rapidly growing global battery recycling market.

On the 16th (local time), SK Innovation announced that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with engineering company KBR for licensing battery recycling technology at the Fastmarkets Conference, the world's largest lithium and battery raw materials conference, held in Portugal.

KBR is a U.S. engineering company with approximately 34,000 employees. It provides advanced technologies and engineering solutions in various fields such as energy, petrochemicals, defense, industry, and infrastructure. The company also has a global network in over 80 countries.

Under this agreement, KBR will combine SK Innovation's BMR technology with its own high-purity crystallization technology (PureLi) to sell in the global market. SK Innovation will receive royalties. The signing ceremony was attended by key figures including Kim Pil-seok, Head of SK Innovation's Environmental Science and Technology Institute, and Gautham Krishnaiah, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of KBR. SK Innovation's BMR technology is characterized by its unique process of prioritizing lithium recovery. The core of the technology is directly recovering lithium hydroxide from used batteries. KBR's high-purity crystallization technology is an advanced purification technology that effectively removes impurities from lithium-containing solutions and produces high-purity lithium hydroxide suitable for battery use through continuous cooling and recrystallization processes. Since 2017, SK Innovation has been developing differentiated battery recycling technology that overcomes the limitations of lithium recovery by integrating its existing refining and petrochemical technology and know-how. In 2021, the company established a commercial demonstration facility at its Environmental Science and Technology Institute capable of directly recovering lithium hydroxide from used batteries equivalent to about 800 electric vehicles annually. It has also applied for over 100 patents domestically and internationally through research to secure high-purity lithium.

Kim Pil-seok, Head of SK Innovation's Environmental Science and Technology Institute, stated, "With SK Innovation's innovative lithium recovery technology, we can fully achieve the EU Battery Directive's mandatory recovery rate, and we have verified the performance of batteries produced with the recovered lithium." He added, "We will lead the global market in battery recycling technology based on environmentally friendly technology and capabilities that can respond to global regulations."

Gautham Krishnaiah, KBR CTO, commented, "SK Innovation's lithium recovery technology is more economically viable than existing technologies such as wet, dry, and carbon reduction methods." He expressed expectations that "by combining KBR's high-purity crystallization technology, we can maximize business synergy."

Meanwhile, Kim Pil-seok, Head of SK Innovation's Environmental Science and Technology Institute, delivered a keynote speech on the first day of the Fastmarkets Conference. He presented on "Battery Market Growth and the Importance of Key Minerals, SK Innovation's Innovative Technology," sharing challenges related to resource acquisition and environmental regulations due to the growth of the global electric vehicle and battery industries, emphasizing that SK Innovation's BMR technology could be a solution.

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