Toyota Chemical Engineering develops new recycling method for used batteries
Technology enables reuse of raw materials without combustion process
The most important things in brief
More efficient use of rare metals such as cobalt or lithium
Reducing emissions for a CO2 – neutral life cycle of vehicles
Establishing a resource-saving circular economy in focus
The increasing spread of electrified vehicles means that more and more rare metals such as cobalt or lithium are needed. Since these are only available in limited quantities, the topic of recycling is becoming increasingly important – also in order to establish a resource-saving circular economy on the way to climate neutrality.
In order for the life cycle of a car to be completely climate neutral, all emissions from production to decommissioning and recycling must be taken into account and gradually reduced. A crucial process for reducing CO2 emissions could be battery recycling without prior combustion. Toyota has already carried out promising verification tests in this area.
Together with Toyota, Toyota Chemical Engineering, an industrial waste processing company, developed the first recycling technology for nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries back in 2010. Since then, the Handa plant in Aichi Prefecture has been collecting and recycling used batteries from hybrid vehicles. Until now, the conventional incineration method has been used for this. However, since autumn 2023, the company has been researching a new technology.
The electrolyte fluid in accumulators, which promotes the movement of ions, is highly flammable. To eliminate the risk of fire during processing, this electrolyte fluid is distilled and extracted.
The battery cells are then shredded, sorted and returned to the production process. The recovered parts are large pieces containing aluminum or iron or so-called “black mass” – a powder that contains various rare metals. The recovered raw materials are then further processed by partner companies for new battery production.