UAE to get first lithium battery recycling plant

The UAE’s first lithium battery recycling plant will become fully operational by the second quarter of 2027.

The facility, a collaboration with state-backed Kezad Group and Witthal Gulf Industries, a unit of Singapore-based Witthal Group of Companies, will have the capacity to recycle 5,000 tonnes of battery waste annually by 2027.

The plant is expected to save an estimated 20,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year and aligns with the UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 goals and its Circular Economy Policy 2021-2031.

The facility will support the electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem by enabling renewable energy storage, reducing the carbon footprint of battery manufacturing and promoting advanced carbon capture technologies and material recovery methods.

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Sugumaran Devaraja, advisor, Witthal Gulf Industries, said the company is already involved in the battery trade segment and the supply materials that go into battery manufacturing.

He said that this project would accelerate the growth of the EV sector.  

In May, UAEV, a joint venture between the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure and Etihad Water and Electricity, announced plans to build a network of high-performance EV chargers across the seven emirates.

Earlier this year, Californian commercial EV manufacturer HummingbirdEV said it intends to establish a micro-factory in the UAE.