The group, which controls Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands, signed a partnership Wednesday with the smelter to jointly develop a “nickel value chain” that procures, processes and recycles the metal needed for EV batteries, the Seoul-based automaker said in an emailed statement. Hyundai will spend 527.2 billion won to purchase shares of Korea Zinc as part of the tie-up, it said.
It aims to be one of the world’s top three EV makers by the end of this decade by producing 3.64 million vehicles annually. The company has denied speculation that it wants to build its own lithium-ion batteries for EVs, though it has acknowledged that it’s studying solid-state batteries. Hyundai opened a research center in July in collaboration with Seoul National University to develop next-generation batteries.