An electric vehicle battery manufacturer that operates a North Georgia factory recently agreed to pay a $31 million settlement to a nearby recycling facility that caught fire and burned to the ground last year.
SK Battery America Inc. settled a lawsuit in late September with Metro Site recycling center in Commerce, which was destroyed in a July 2023 fire after investigators said it received lithium-ion battery scraps among a shipment of recyclables from the battery producer’s factory a few miles away.
Metro Site is not permitted to handle batteries among its recyclables and didn’t know it had received the components. The incident prompted an investigation by Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division, which resulted in a $33,000 fine being levied against SK Battery.
SK Battery, a subsidiary of Korean conglomerate SK Group, did not admit liability as part of the settlement with Metro Site but agreed to pay $20 million in punitive damages and $11 million in tort-related claims and damages to Metro Site.
“SK Battery America values its partnership with the Georgia community and is committed to having a positive impact on the area,” the company said in a statement.
Georgia has become a national hub for electric vehicle and battery manufacturing, drawing tens of billions of dollars in investments and promises of tens of thousands of jobs. But the July 2023 fire highlights the serious — albeit rare — risk of mishandling battery technology that has become a cornerstone of modern life, powering a litany of products from smartphones to EVs.
Since 2020, Banks County Fire Chief Steve Nichols said his firefighters assisted with four blazes caused by battery scraps at Metro Site, which sits about 70 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta, just across the Jackson County line. It took firefighters four days and 3 million gallons of water to extinguish the 2023 inferno.
Credit: Courtesy Metro Site
Credit: Courtesy Metro Site
“While the impact of SK Battery’s misconduct is still being felt, the $31 million settlement represents a significant victory for small businesses like Metro Site,” attorneys with Stockton & Stockton and McDonald & Cody, the legal team representing the recycling facility, wrote in a news release announcing the settlement.
SK Battery’s statement said the company has “stringent procedures” in place regarding the shipment and disposal of battery-related materials, adding it implemented additional oversights following the Metro Site incident.
“More than a year ago, we added an extra layer of oversight to further strengthen these procedures before any waste material leaves our site,” the company said. “We believe it is in the best interest of both parties to move past this dispute.”
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
The court battle over the fire isn’t over yet.
In a related lawsuit, Banks County is seeking compensatory damages from SK Battery for the “significant government resources” used to battle the blaze. The complaint also says the fire endangered Banks Fire Station 31, which is adjacent to Metro Site’s property. The county’s legal team is the same that represented Metro Site and the lawsuit remains pending.
SK Battery declined to comment on pending litigation.
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