Samsung's Circular Battery Chain Boosts Cobalt Recycling
As stakeholders and consumers begin to demand more accountability and transparency surrounding sustainability, critical minerals such as cobalt and lithium are vital for EVs, clean energy and digital technologies. However, their extraction often involved significant ethical and environmental risks.
Not only are responsible sourcing and greater traceability vital to support the low-carbon transition, but maintaining sustainability across mineral supply chains supports companies in meeting ESG goals and avoiding reputational damage.
With this in mind, Samsung Electronics has launched a circular battery supply chain by recycling cobalt from manufacturing and production scrap in Vietnam. The initiative will help to tackle the excessive waste Samsung’s production facilities in Vietnam record every year, which amounts to around 200 tons of waste battery material.
The Galaxy S24 was the inaugural device to utilise recycled cobalt. In the new Galaxy S25 smartphone, cobalt is recovered from scrap material during battery manufacturing and reintroduced into new batteries. This will help to minimise dependence on newly mined resources.
By localising the recycling process, Samsung can cut carbon emissions and make greater progress towards more traceable and sustainable supply chains across the technology industry.
Youngmin Kim, from the Circular Economy Lab in the Global Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) Office at Samsung, explains: “Samsung’s Vietnam facilities are among those that generate the highest volume of waste batteries, including defective units from the manufacturing process and batteries recovered from a factory that repairs Galaxy phones traded in from the United States.
“Our goal was to create a system that would allow us to recycle these resources and reintegrate them into our products.”
The importance of cobalt
In lithium-ion batteries in smartphones, cobalt is vital to improve energy density and support greater stability and performance. Cobalt maintains prime battery operation, helping to support lithium to carry electrons within the battery.
Cobalt’s ability to prevent overheating by stabilising the battery is essential for EVs, smartphones and energy storage.
However, environmental and ethical challenges arise as most of the cobalt is mined in the DRC. Not only does this raise environmental concerns such as land degradation and water pollution, but it is also often linked to human rights violations and unsafe working conditions.
Samsung Electronics' Circular battery supply chain is helping to tackle the challenges linked with sustainability, critical minerals and supply chain transparency by introducing a closed-loop recycling system for cobalt.
Through this, Samsung is helping to minimise environmental impact, reduce reliance on newly-mined materials and promote ethical sourcing.
Sangcheul Lee, from the Battery Group in the Mobile eXperience (MX) Business at Samsung Electronics, states: “Cobalt does not degrade with battery use, meaning it can theoretically be recycled indefinitely.
“Recycled cobalt and newly mined cobalt are virtually identical — so much so that the difference is indistinguishable in the manufacturing process.”
After the waste batteries are processed into high-purity cobalt, they are integrated into Galaxt S25 batteries at the battery production line. This approach stands to boost supply chain transparency and support the transition to a greener future.
Youngmin continues: “The key to extracting high-purity cobalt lies in technology. Through our Circular Battery Supply Chain, we have successfully recovered and utilized over 90% of the cobalt from the discarded batteries that have been collected.”
Supply chain sustainability
This initiative will help to support Samsung’s wider circularity ambitions.
By 2030, the technology organisation aims to have applied recycled plastics to 50% of plastic parts in DX products (with the hope to reach 100% by 2050).
In 2023, Samsung reported it had collected 599,153 tonnes of e-waste and used 157,939 tonnes of plastic with recycled resin, achieving a utilisation rate of 25%.
Samsung Electronics' circular battery supply chain will support its circularity ambitions and supply chain sustainability by shortening sourcing routes and minimising its reliance on virgin materials.
They reduce the need for newly-mined resources and minimise the environmental and social impacts linked to raw material extraction by recovering cobalt from manufacturing scrap and used Galaxy devices.
After the batteries are dismantled and discharged, they are processed into a fine powder called ‘black mass’. Samsung uses this material to produce cathode materials and extract cobalt.
Not only will it help catalyse progress to carbon reduction goals by reducing the overall carbon footprint of battery production, but the circular approach will enhance resource efficiency across the supply chain.
Samsung sets new standard
Samsung Electronics' circular battery supply chain will set a new standard for how manufacturers can embrace material sourcing.
The company is helping boost the use of closed-loop systems by showcasing how high-performance batteries can utilise recycled cobalt without reducing quality.
This initiative will meet growing ESG pressures by effectively balancing ethics, performance and emissions reduction, while catalysing greater innovation in sustainable material recovery.
Youngmin adds: “With the Galaxy S25, we’ve also reached another significant milestone in resource circularity — wafer trays discarded after semiconductor manufacturing have been repurposed into a plastic used in the side and volume keys.
“We are working on various projects to expand resource circularity across other product lines as well, and we hope our users will continue to join us on our journey.”
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