On 30 October 2019, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Dr Koh Poh Koon announced that global e-waste recycler TES will be setting up a new facility in Singapore for recycling lithium-ion batteries found in mobile phones and electric vehicles. The facility, named TES B, is expected to cover 10,000 sq m, and cost about $20 million. It will recycle 14 tonnes of lithium-ion batteries a day, allowing precious metals from the batteries to be reused to make new ones.
Speaking at the Asia Clean Energy Summit, Dr Koh cited TES’ new facility as an investment that exemplifies green growth opportunities. “This is an exciting development as the use of batteries for grid-related energy storage is projected to grow globally, to manage the increasing adoption of intermittent renewable energy such as solar,” Dr Koh said.
TES also announced that it is working with partners to develop energy storage systems (ESS) that will use retired electric vehicle batteries to store electricity for various commercial and residential energy needs. TES CEO Gary Steele said the battery space is potentially facing raw material commodity shortages stemming from the proliferation of Internet of Things devices, electric vehicles, and mobility devices, and added that TES has worked in close partnership with EDB and NEA.
