Proper Disposal and Recycling of Battery Packs Given Rise in Battery Electric Vehicles

Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong asked the Minister for Transport given the rise of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV), what are the measures taken to properly dispose and recycle battery packs today and in the future.

EV batteries are regulated under the National Environment Agency’s (NEA) Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme for e-waste, which came into effect on 1 July 2021. Under the EPR, companies that import EV batteries for supply in Singapore, whether as standalone batteries or as components of electric and hybrid vehicles, are responsible for the collection and end-of-life treatment of these batteries. These batteries are sent to licensed local e-waste recyclers or exported for treatment, where useful materials, such as cobalt, lithium, nickel and copper, are recovered. NEA is working with the local recycling industry to further build up Singapore’s capabilities to recycle EV batteries.

The Government continues to monitor other technologies and solutions for handling used EV batteries. The Energy Market Authority (EMA) is building up industry capabilities to repurpose such batteries as energy storage systems for grid applications. Such repurposing will extend the batteries’ useful lifecycle. The repurposed batteries can help to address solar intermittency and strengthen the resilience of the grid.