On July 1, 2025, Formosa Smart Energy (FSET) announced the completion of Taiwan's first integrated demonstration line for LFP battery recycling, combining front-end physical crushing with back-end chemical extraction.
With the rapid expansion of global energy storage and electric vehicles (EVs) generating a large volume of retired batteries, the recycling and reuse of precious metals has become a critical strategy for supply chain resilience and resource security worldwide.
By building its own demonstration line, FSET successfully refined battery-grade lithium carbonate that can be directly used in lithium battery manufacturing. This aligns with national policies promoting autonomous recycling and circular economy chains, advancing the concept of urban mining and marking a key step toward a new energy circular economy system.
Precious metals have become core strategic resources globally. The Ministry of Environment (MOENV) recently planned legislation to promote resource circulation to strengthen resource security.
In response to the growing application and usage of lithium batteries, the government implemented preferential rates for secondary lithium battery recycling fees starting July 1, encouraging industry participation in recycling and reuse. This aims to build a local circular system, retain high-value metals with supply risks domestically, and enhance Taiwan's competitive advantage in the global energy economy.
FSET chairperson Sandy Wang pointed out that lithium battery applications have rapidly expanded from 3C electronic products to EVs and energy storage, with Taiwan's consumption steadily increasing. Proper end-of-life lithium battery recycling and processing is an urgent priority.
The company has proactively deployed a recycling system, completing Taiwan's first LFP battery recycling demonstration line covering both front-end physical crushing and back-end chemical extraction.
Through physical treatment, black powder is extracted from discarded batteries, then purified via chemical processes to separate valuable lithium carbonate and other metals, achieving local recycling and reuse goals while retaining resources within Taiwan.
The demonstration line also features verification and scaling capabilities, with plans underway for subsequent mass production operations, including plant construction and capacity layout. It will handle retired batteries, scraps, and rejects from FSET's Changhua Coastal Industrial Park cell factory, enhancing Taiwan's battery recycling capacity and strengthening industrial chain resilience and resource control.
General manager Hui-Chi Liu stated that the demonstration line recycles batteries through crushing, screening, and wet extraction to produce battery-grade high-purity lithium carbonate needed for lithium battery manufacturing. Copper and aluminum particles are separated and recycled into copper ingots, aluminum ingots, and aluminum alloys as industrial materials.
Other byproducts, such as iron-aluminum concentrates, can be used as cement additives, and acid-treated black powder serves as metallurgical fuel, realizing comprehensive circular reuse from recycling to material production.
According to statistics from the MOENV, about 28.3% of Taiwan's waste lithium batteries are currently exported overseas directly, while 71.7% are processed domestically into black powder. Of this domestic output, 90.3% is re-exported, leaving only 9.7% retained for use in Taiwan, causing a significant outflow of high-value metal resources and underscoring the urgent need to establish a complete recycling and reuse mechanism.
Article edited by Jack Wu
