Rare metals are essential to Japanese manufacturing, particularly for the lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) that power EVs. But much of the world’s reserves and output are concentrated in a handful of countries, chief among them China.
For resource-poor Japan, building a circular supply chain has become a pressing economic security priority.
DOWA Holdings developed a new process in late June that extracts “black mass,” an intermediate material, from crushed used LIBs, then recovers nickel-cobalt sulfate, a raw material for cathodes.
The company is verifying the process at a demonstration plant in Okayama Prefecture while supplying samples to cathode material manufacturers for performance evaluation. It is also considering future overseas expansion.
Sumitomo Metal Mining began test operations this month at a recycling plant in Ehime Prefecture that recovers lithium, nickel, and cobalt from used LIBs. The company says the plant can process a volume of batteries equivalent to 60,000 EVs a year.
JX Metals, meanwhile, has developed a new process that recovers over 90% of the lithium in used LIBs, a recovery rate the company says is the highest in the world.
It involves adding new equipment to an existing facility in Fukui Prefecture and targets operations starting in April 2027. The company said it aims to “secure resources stably through recycling.”
Mitsubishi Materials completed a demonstration plant in Fukushima Prefecture in June to recover and refine rare metals, and is now moving forward with trial testing.
Tungsten Already Running Dry
The push into recycling reflects an urgent need to diversify supply sources amid mounting geopolitical risk.
According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), China controls roughly 60% of global lithium smelting, 70% of cobalt, and 50% of nickel.
As with rare earths, where China’s dominance in reserves and production is even more pronounced, Beijing has used export restrictions on rare metals to pressure Japan and other countries.
Supplies of tungsten and gallium have already stalled, and further curbs on rare metals could tighten depending on Chinese policy.
Takashi Momiyama of the Japan Research Institute’s Center for the Strategy of Emergence warned, “The impact on domestic industry is immeasurable.”
The Environment Ministry estimates that the volume of discarded vehicle LIBs will grow roughly eightfold by fiscal 2040 compared with fiscal 2026, exceeding 400,000 units annually.
To minimize geopolitical risk, the government is backing private-sector technology development to recycle rare metals from these batteries.
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(Read the article in Japanese.)
Author: Kazuya Yanagihara, The Sankei Shimbun