Waste-to-Energy Project by Toyota Chemical Engineering: Decarbonized Power Generation via Garbage Incineration without Carbon Emissions
In a significant stride towards environmental sustainability, Toyota and Toyota Chemical Engineering have taken on the challenge of developing a battery recycling technology that minimizes emissions. This innovative approach, which reduces the amount of materials recovered and emissions, marks a departure from traditional methods that involve incineration.
The Role of Black Mass in Sustainable Recycling
At the heart of this new recycling process is the handling of the "black mass", a dark, granular powder obtained from shredding spent lithium-ion battery electrodes. This black mass contains a mixture of valuable battery materials like lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and other metals embedded in the electrode coatings.
In the context of achieving carbon neutrality, the black mass plays a pivotal role as the primary intermediate material from which lithium and other valuable metals are extracted and purified. This process enables more efficient, high-purity recovery of lithium hydroxide and other battery-grade materials used to manufacture new EV batteries, thereby supporting circular economy goals and minimizing resource mining and environmental impact.
The New Recycling Method
The new recycling method begins by transferring spent batteries into equipment and filling them with an electrolytic solution for easier movement of ions. Unlike traditional methods, this process does not involve incineration, making it a significant step towards carbon-neutral battery recycling.
The electrolytic fluid is highly flammable and carries a risk of fire, but the facility can distill and extract it to eliminate this risk. This method, while reducing the amount of materials recovered, significantly reduces CO2 emissions and improves recovery rates.
A Step Towards a Circular Economy
Toyota Chemical Engineering has been collecting and recycling spent batteries from Toyota Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) in Japan since 2010. The company's dream of creating a circular economy is at the heart of all these technologies, including battery recycling, and garbage is becoming a potential resource without emitting carbon.
In Europe, regulations requiring battery manufacturers to use a fixed ratio of rare metals recovered from spent batteries will take effect in 2031. This new recycling method aligns with these regulations, contributing to a more sustainable battery industry.
Leading the Way in Environmental Innovation
Toyota Chemical Engineering is seeking to become a leader in the environmental industry and is working on developing various other technologies, such as making electricity from water and garbage, and industrial waste disposal using incineration without releasing CO2 into the atmosphere.
Disposing of these batteries when cars reach end-of-life is becoming a serious issue. By pioneering this new recycling method, Toyota and Toyota Chemical Engineering are not only addressing this issue but also leading the way towards a more sustainable future.
In the fall of 2023, Toyota and Toyota Chemical Engineering took the first step towards transforming spent batteries into new ones, using a method to safely recover materials without incineration. This test plant is a significant milestone in the journey towards a circular economy and carbon neutrality.
[1] https://www.toyota-global.com/innovation/environment/chemical/ [3] https://www.toyota-global.com/innovation/environment/battery_recycling/ [5] https://www.toyota-global.com/innovation/environment/recycling/
- Toyota Chemical Engineering's new battery recycling technology, which focuses on the handling of the 'black mass', contains valuable battery materials like lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and other metals, supporting the efficient recovery of lithium hydroxide and battery-grade materials essential for the manufacturing of new Electric Vehicle (EV) batteries.
- The innovative recycling method skips the incineration process, instead using an electrolytic solution to facilitate easy movement of ions and reduce CO2 emissions, making it a significant step towards carbon-neutral battery recycling.
- With regulations requiring battery manufacturers to use a fixed ratio of rare metals recovered from spent batteries coming into effect in Europe in 2031, this new recycling method, which aligns with these regulations, contributes to a more sustainable battery industry.
- In addition to developing this battery recycling technology, Toyota Chemical Engineering is also working on creating new technologies for making electricity from water and garbage, industrial waste disposal using incineration without CO2 emissions, and addressing the issue of spent batteries when cars reach end-of-life, leading the way towards a more sustainable future.
