Toyota, Sumitomo Metal Mining to Launch Ni Recycle from Used Battery

Toyota Motor, Sumitomo Metal Mining, Toyota Chemical Engineering and Primearth EV Energy announced on Wednesday they launch world first nickel recycling business from used nickel metal hydride battery of hybrid vehicle, which uses nickel as positive electrode material, to utilize for nickel metal hydride battery. They will develop technology to recover rare earth from hydrogen storage alloy, which is used for negative electrode material of the battery.

They establish new recycling system to use recycled nickel for new battery material while used nickel metal hydride battery is now recycled as scrap for stainless steel making. Toyota Chemical Engineering crashes used battery and separates nickel from the positive electrode. Some of the separated high grade nickel is shipped to Niihama plant of Sumitomo Metal Mining to make nickel metal.

With the nickel metal, Sumitomo Metal Mining makes nickel hydroxide at Isoura plant. Primearth EV Energy uses the nickel hydroxide as positive electrode of nickel metal hydride battery for Toyota’s hybrid vehicle.

Rare earth in misch metal was used to make hydrogen storage alloy. However, the technology to recover misch metal from the battery is to be developed when Japanese industry depends on China for almost all rare earth supply. Separated hydrogen storage alloy at Toyota Chemical Engineering will be used as stainless making material as now due to lower nickel content.