Toyota and other Japanese companies are accelerating efforts to reuse and recycle EV batteries; Retaining important mineral resources in Japan would improve economic security

Japanese companies are accelerating their efforts to develop technology that allows electric vehicle batteries to be reused or recycled.

Japan has relied on China and several other countries for key mineral resources essential for battery production. However, if a system can be developed to reuse or recycle these materials in Japan, it would significantly improve the country’s economic security.

Currently, the resale value of a used EV is significantly lower than the price of a new one. However, as reusing and recycling EV batteries becomes more common, the value of EVs will also change. If this is achieved, the number of electric vehicles on the road will likely increase.

During Japan Mobility Show Bizweek 2024, which took place in Chiba City from Tuesday to Friday, Toyota Motor Corp. its large-scale electricity storage system created by connecting used EV batteries.

What makes Toyota’s system unique is that it connects batteries that deteriorate at different rates. This used to be difficult, but the system can now charge and discharge more efficiently.

The system can also use batteries from different manufacturers, increasing the chance that more batteries will be reused.

There have been many cases where EV batteries could no longer be used for vehicles but could still be used for other purposes, leading to the question of how they can be reused.

Toyota aims to begin operating a battery system for industrial use in 2027.

Other companies are also developing new methods to use used batteries.

JERA Co., a major thermal energy company, has developed a technology to collect about 90% of the rare metals from used EV batteries. Conventional methods can only recover about 60%. The company wants to put the technology into practice in the first half of 2030.

Nissan Motor Co. announced this month that it will sell an EV in Britain from 2026 equipped with technology that allows users to sell the energy stored in the batteries.

The price of new electric vehicles is usually high because the batteries are expensive, but the resale value of a used electric car is usually significantly lower. This is because systems around battery reuse and other EV issues have not yet been established. It’s something that needs to be addressed.

Currently, about 80% of electric vehicles, which contain large amounts of valuable mineral resources, are exported abroad. Feeling a sense of urgency around electric vehicles, the government plans to increase efforts to achieve a circular economy by tapping into industrial, bureaucratic and academic circles.

The Japan Research Institute believes that if all used EV batteries circulated in Japan, the related markets would be worth about ¥8 trillion by 2050.

“Building an ecosystem of reuse and recycling [batteries] is important for the popularization of electric vehicles,” Toyota President Koji Sato said in Chiba City on Friday.