Samsung’s New Initiative Reduces E-Waste in Smartphone Production
Seoul, 28th March 2025 – Samsung Electronics has opened a new Circular Battery Supply Chain which is innovative in sustainable technology. This initiative works on recycling of cobalt from old devices to create new batteries for the Galaxy S25 series.
The process starts out by receiving Galaxy smartphones from the trade-in program. During cobalt recovery, the batteries are fully discharged, cut into pieces and the remaining metals are shredded.
Subsequently, a material commonly referred to as “black mass” form is created. This black mass is then purified and transformed through chemical processes into cobalt sulfate and subsequently into cathode materials, which are the main ingredients for lithium-ion batteries.
In total, 50% of the cobalt used in the rechargeable batteries for Galaxy S25s comes from recycled resources.
“Youngmin Kim, of Samsung’s Circular Economy Lab said,
“Samsung’s Vietnam facilities are some of the highest waste battery-producing facilities. We tried to devise this boundless system where every resource is exploitable.”
The new Circular Battery Supply Chain does not only propose a solution to environmental issues related to cobalt mining but also improves the efficiency of the resources through the various production plants of Samsung.
The goal is to reduce electronic waste through this closed-system strategy while providing further incentives for improving the sustainability of the tech industry.
“We have put in place a fully closed loop recycling system that disassembles discarded Galaxy batteries to pull out cobalt and uses it in the Galaxy S25.”
Remarked Sangcheul Lee, a member of Samsung’s Mobile eXperience Business, ,
“This program pertains to Samsung’s longer term goals as it relates to protecting the environment, and it paves the way for responsibly managing resources in electronics manufacturing. ” Lee said.
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