Greentech Lead Asia: Honda Motor and the Japan Metals
& Chemicals jointly established a process to extract rare earth metals from
various used parts in Honda products, in an actual mass-production process at a
recycling plant.
Honda will pursue the recycling of precious resources by
utilizing the newly established process for the recycling of rare earth metals.
Honda and Japan Metals & Chemicals will extract rare
earth metals from used nickel-metal hydride batteries collected from Honda
hybrid vehicles at Honda dealers inside and outside of Japan. The new operation
will be the first in the world to extract rare earth metals as part of a
mass-production process at a recycling plant.
Honda had been applying a heat treatment to used
nickel-metal hydride batteries  and
recycling nickel-containing scrap as a raw material of stainless steel. Through
this extraction process Japan Metals & Chemicals recovers rare earth metals
with purity as high as that of newly mined and refined metals.
The newly established process enables recover as much as
above 80 percent of rare earth metals contained in used nickel-metal hydride
batteries. Honda will strive to reuse extracted rare earth metals to a wide
range of Honda products.
Honda will further expand the recycling of rare earth
metals in the future as the newly established process enables the extraction of
rare earth metals from a variety of used parts in addition to nickel-metal
hydride batteries.
Honda was the first Japanese automaker to begin sales of
recycled parts and to collect/recycle oil filters and replaced bumpers. Honda
will continue strengthening its network which links to the reuse and recycling
of resources.
Honda starts deliveries of 2013 Fit EV battery-electric vehicle
to reduce CO2 emissions
Recently, Honda delivered a 2013 Fit EV battery-electric
vehicle to the city of Torrance as one of the first major steps in the Honda
Electric Vehicle Demonstration Program.
editor@greentechlead.com
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