Winston-Salem to Host Battery Metal Recycling Plant
Owners of electric vehicles and Winston-Salem residents will see local recovery of lithium, cobalt, and nickel from used batteries.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Electric Vehicles
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LG Energy Solution agreed with Toyota Tsusho to form Green Metals Battery Innovations LLC, a joint venture focused on battery recycling, which will operate a dedicated pre-processing facility in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The joint venture was announced Thursday.
Why it matters
The facility will process scraps from LG Energy Solution's U.S. plant, including scraps from batteries produced for Toyota, bringing recycling of electric vehicle battery materials closer to Winston-Salem homes and the region's auto supply chain. For Winston-Salem residents, it signals new local industrial activity tied to the electric vehicle battery sector.
The facility will be located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and will take in used batteries and production scraps from LG Energy Solution's U.S. plant, including scraps from batteries made for Toyota. No capacity, cost, or opening date was disclosed in the announcement.
The players
LG Energy Solution
A major South Korean battery maker that supplies electric vehicle batteries, including to Toyota, and operates a U.S. plant.
Toyota Tsusho
The trading and industrial arm of Toyota that collects used batteries and scrap materials across North America.
The details
The facility will safely disassemble and crush used batteries and production scraps as a pre-processing step. Recovered lithium, cobalt, and nickel will then undergo post-processing before being reused in cathode materials and new batteries. The final output is intended for use in Toyota's electric vehicle batteries.
Timeline
Thursday, week of November 4, 2026: LG Energy Solution announced the Green Metals Battery Innovations joint venture.
The Home Front
The move ties battery recycling to the growing number of electric vehicles on North American roads, a shift that affects how automakers source battery metals. Recovering lithium, cobalt, and nickel locally is one way the auto industry is trying to reduce reliance on newly mined materials.
If you own an electric vehicle, the battery is the most valuable and costly component, so keep your battery warranty paperwork on file. Battery recycling programs like this one may shape how end-of-life packs are handled, so ask your dealer or a licensed service center about take-back options when the time comes.
The takeaway
Battery recycling is becoming a local industrial story as automakers build closed-loop supply chains for lithium, cobalt, and nickel. Keep your EV battery warranty documents organized, since end-of-life battery handling is an area that is still developing.
Further reading
For more on the vehicles driving demand for these recycled battery metals, see our Electric Vehicles coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Pulse.
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