Beeah Recycling, a subsidiary of UAE-based waste management leader Beeah, has signed an agreement with the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure (MOEI) and the American University of Sharjah (AUS) for joint collaboration on setting up the nation’s first recycling plant for end-of-life batteries from electric vehicles.

The EV battery recycling facility will be added to Beeah Recycling’s integrated waste management complex, which currently has ten specialised waste processing and material recovery facilities that have contributed to a 76 per cent waste diversion rate in the emirate of Sharjah, the highest in the Middle East.

The addition of an EV battery recycling facility will help further increase landfill waste diversion in the future as more batteries from EVs approach end-of-life, said the statement from Beeah.

As per the deal, Beeah Recycling will join the ministry and AUS to identify world-class technologies for the EV battery recycling facility, it stated.

Group CEO Khaled Al Huraimel was joined by Beeah Recycling CEO Daker El Rabaya to sign the agreement with Sharif Salim Al Olama, Undersecretary of Energy and Petroleum Affairs, Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, and Prof. Juan Sanchez, the Provost of American University of Sharjah, at the 2023 World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi.

On the agreement, Al Huraimel said: “Combining the material recovery expertise from Beeah Recycling, the national vision and foresight of the Ministry and cutting-edge research from AUS we will be able to formulate the ideal, future-ready strategy.”

The UAE has witnessed a rising number of people switching from traditional vehicles to electric vehicles. In a 2022 study, over 30 percent of UAE people were considering switching to electric vehicles. Projections show the EV market will grow at a CAGR of 30 percent between 2022 and 2028.

“Ultimately, our efforts will realise the sustainable, zero-waste and net-zero growth of the EV market, which aligns with the national, regional and global sustainability agenda,” he noted.

Elaborating on the agreement, El Rabaya said: “At Beeah Recycling, we embody a zero-waste strategy to support the creation of a circular economy across industries. We want to advance our contributions to circularity and material recovery within the EV industry, which is critical to achieving net-zero emissions in the UAE and beyond.”