Panasonic, Sumitomo cooperate on battery materials recycling in Japan

The Panasonic Energy Co. Ltd. business unit of the Japan-based Panasonic Group has launched a lithium-ion battery recycling initiative that will produce nickel to be used in cathode materials.

Panasonic's processing effort will be undertaken in collaboration with Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd., part of another Japanese conglomerate, which focuses on nonferrous metal smelting and refining and the production of cathode materials.

It is Panasonic Energy’s first closed-loop recycling initiative in Japan through which end-of-life electric vehicle (EV) battery scrap will be reprocessed into raw materials and reused to manufacture EV batteries.

Panasonic Energy refers to a similar partnership it entered into in 2022 with Redwood Materials Inc. in the United States in 2022, sayings its collaboration with Sumitomo “represents a key milestone in the acceleration of recycling efforts in Japan.”

As part of the initiative, Sumitomo Metal Mining will recycle nickel from battery scrap generated at Panasonic Energy’s factory in Japan. The recycled-content nickel will then be reused as cathode materials in the company’s lithium-ion batteries.

Sumitomo Metal Mining has been operating a business recovering and recycling copper and nickel from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries and battery scrap, since 2017, repurposing what is recovered as raw materials for cathode production.

Via the partnership, battery scrap from Panasonic Energy’s Suminoe Factory in Osaka, Japan, will be processed and partly recovered as nickel sulfate at two Sumitomo facilities in Japan. The resulting recycled-content nickel sulfate will be used in the production of cathode materials placed into Panasonic Energy lithium-ion batteries. 

While the initiative initially will focus on nickel recycling, plans involve extending the program beyond 2026 to include other battery materials, including lithium and cobalt.

Panasonic Energy has set a target of reaching 20 percent recycled cathode material content in its automotive batteries by 2027, part of a broader sustainability strategy tied to its goal of halving its carbon footprint by fiscal 2031 compared with the 2022 level.

“Building a sustainable recycling scheme for end-of-life lithium-ion batteries is crucial for the future expansion of EVs,” Panasonic Energy CEO Kazuo Tadanobu says. “We are advancing initiatives in both Japan and the U.S., and through the partnership with Sumitomo Metal Mining, with its deep expertise in nonferrous metal recycling, we are accelerating our efforts toward realizing a circular economy. This collaboration supports our mission of fostering a sustainable society.”