The patented container will serve as South Korea's first dedicated platform for the transportation of spent batteries, Hyundai Glovis said in a statement on February 3, adding the efficiency of transportation has more than tripled based on an 11-ton cargo truck.
By adopting a variable rail structure to adjust its size, Hyundai Glovis said the container can carry batteries of different shapes, not limited to one model. For safe transport, it adopted insulation materials and a special fixing device.
Because the lifespan of batteries that are used in electric vehicles is about 10 years, the government predicts that about 67,200 EV batteries will be discarded annually in 2030. Discarded batteries can be recycled to store electricity inside energy storage systems. When the battery is not efficient enough, it can be sent to special recycling centers to be broken down and retrieve rare metals.
In 2020, South Korea eased regulations to accelerate the recycling of discarded batteries and launched a national project to develop a new battery management system. Hyundai Glovis partnered with KST Mobility, a taxi service company, to start a battery rental service for electric taxis.