Japanese organisations from academia and industry have begun a joint research project looking at battery material resources and recycling processes.
The project will use recycled materials to create a method of battery material manufacturing process that is “carbon neutral” and reduces production costs.
The partners are: academicia’s Institute of Industrial Science at The University of Tokyo; battery makers Prime Planet Energy & Solutions and Panasonic Corporation; and Toyota Tsusho Corporation, which has interests in vehicle recycling.
The project will focus on two main areas: development of new processes in an integrated manner, ranging from resource development to battery material development and manufacturing; and development of new processes for recycling of battery waste materials and used batteries.
The first area will review existing processes from the development of nickel, lithium, and cobalt, and refine these in the development and manufacturing of battery materials.
The joint research aims to solve issues such as reduction of CO2 emissions, reduction of production costs, and shortening of lead time for material production.
The second focus area aims to improve the recycling rate of batteries by promoting the development of technologies for efficient and waste-free recycling of leftover materials from battery manufacturing and used batteries.
The four parties signed an ‘Industry-Academia Collaboration and Research Cooperation Agreement’ on 26 January.