Toyota and LG Energy launch US battery recycling venture

Carmaker Toyota Tsusho has announced a strategic partnership with South Korean lithium-ion battery maker LG Energy Solution to establish a new joint venture focused on recycling electric vehicle (EV) batteries in the United States.

The new company, Green Metals Battery Innovations (GMBI), will be based in North Carolina where a pre-processing facility will extract black mass.

Closed loop

Set to begin operations in 2026, GMBI’s facility will have the capacity to process over 12 000 tonnes of battery scrap annually, equivalent to more than 40 000 battery units. The company will initially focus on processing manufacturing scrap, including material from LG’s eight North American battery plants, before expanding into end-of-life battery recycling.LG Energy Solution, part of the LG Group, is expanding its battery manufacturing footprint globally, with over 500 GWh of production capacity planned. The company has been working to implement a closed-loop system to recycle production waste into new battery materials.

Key market

Toyota Tsusho, the trading arm of the Toyota Group, launched a similar lithium-ion battery recycling business in Japan in 2023 and sees North America as a key market for scaling up sustainable battery material recovery.The move comes amid growing global pressure to reduce the environmental impact of battery production and increase the reuse of scarce resources. GMBI’s operations are designed to align with tightening regulations and environmental standards in the US and abroad.Toyota and LG aim to create a robust, local supply chain for battery-grade materials, helping to reduce emissions and dependence on imported raw materials—while supporting the clean energy transition.