Toyota will start a new business model for recycling of used nickel-metal batteries in hybrid vehicles. The goal is to prepare the nickel extracted from old batteries for the usage in new nickel-metal hydride batteries. The automobile manufacturer works together with the company Toyota Chemical Engineering, Sumitomo Metal Mining and Primearth EV Energy (PEVE). So far, nickel-containing waste material from the disused batteries hybrid vehicles was used as a raw material for steel production. The development of a high-precision sorting and extraction process, the material can be fed directly into the nickel-refining process. This allows a “battery-to-battery-recycling”.
To establish the new business model, the Toyota Motor Corporation established a “HV Call Center” for the recovery of batteries. In the nickel-refining Toyota is supported by the Sumitomo Metal Mining. PEVE helps with quality assurance in battery manufacturing. The introduction of the new recycling system in Japan will contribute to the goal of the company to speed up a recycling-based society. At the same time the method is used as a model project for modern recovery and recycling technologies aiming at the conservation of globally limited resources. Toyota is currently investigating the opportunities for introduction of the recycling system outside of Japan.
