South Korean steelmaker Posco Holdings said Friday that it has completed construction of a used secondary battery recycling plant in Poland, which will serve as a base for Posco to expand its eco-friendly business to around the world.

The Poland Legnica Sourcing Center (PLSC), located in Brzeg Dolny, some 30 kilometers northwest of Warsaw, can annually process 7,000 tons of used batteries and scraps of waste left after battery production. Used batteries shredded to a powdery black mass at the plant will be sent to Posco HY Clean Metal, an affiliate in charge of extracting chemicals. 

In March, Posco Holdings set up the Polish unit to respond to governments and growing calls from global clients for eco-friendly recycling of used batteries. SungEel HiTech, a local company which holds an exclusive technique that recycles used batteries will cooperate with Posco’s new battery recycling plant, the company said.

“Recycling batteries is at the core of Posco Group’s secondary battery materials business. We will continuously expand our recycling business to lead the group’s social responsibilities and also increase market competitiveness in securing materials,” said Yoo Byung-ok, who leads Posco Holdings’ eco-friendly materials division.

Since entering the secondary battery market in 2010, Posco has been striving to build a stable secondary battery material value chain capable of producing 300,000 tons of lithium, 220,000 tons of nickel, 610,000 tons of cathodes and 320,000 tons of anode materials by 2030. It hopes to reach 41 trillion won ($32.3 billion) in sales through the business.