Toyota to Recycle Used Nickel For New Batteries

Toyota Motor Corporation, along with Toyota Chemical Engineering, Sumitomo Metal Mining, and Primearth EV Energy, is working to recycle nickel in used hybrid-vehicle nickel-metal-hydride batteries for use in new nickel-metal-hydride batteries.

Previously, nickel-metal-hydride batteries recovered by car dealers and vehicle dismantling businesses were subjected to reduction treatment. The scrap containing nickel was recycled as a raw material for stainless-steel manufacturing.

The high-precision nickel sorting and extraction technology has been developed where the materials can be introduced directly into the nickel-refining process. The technology thus leads to battery to battery recycling process.

The company has established the Toyota HV Call Center to help recover the batteries. It has constructed advanced recycling facilities for this purpose. These facilities are exclusively designed for mass production in partnership basis with the above mentioned companies.

The company also plans to reduce the usage of trucks on return trips from parts deliveries with a view to reduce the impact on the environment, including CO2 emissions during transport.

The new facilities are only in Japan for now. It is expected that the establishment of this recycling system in the country will accelerate the creation of a sustainable and recycling-based society. Toyota Motor Corporation is currently working on introducing this recycling system overseas.