Toyota Recycles Hybrid Batteries For New Cars

Upgrading Your Prius Battery to a Camry

Toyota is attempting to create a circular economy for batteries, having recently teamed up with Redwood Materials to strengthen its pre-existing recycling agreement. The objective of this venture is to form sustainable options to discard automobile batteries when they have fulfilled their useful lives in Toyota’s electrified vehicles.

Simply put, the battery from your aged Prius could be employed in your fresh electrified Crown Signia. Alternatively, or to an extent, parts of it. Furthering their relationship, Toyota will now acquire cathode and anode copper foil from Redwood’s recycling efforts, advancing their own forthcoming automotive battery production. The connection was originally reported last year.

The Japanese manufacturer predicts an upsurge in its automotive battery reclamation demand, specifically as a larger number of its electric-run automobiles, such as the initial Prius vehicles released more than two decades ago, achieve the end of their lifespan. Considering a major share of Toyota’s decommissioned fleet is situated in California, many of those autos may very well arrive at Redwood’s Nevada recycling plant. The fresh ecosystem that the two corporations are shaping is anticipated to reclaim, reconstruct, and reuse roughly 5 million individuals units over the next few years.

Toyota’s ambitious sustainability aspirations have spurred the collaboration. The carmaker is committing to carbon neutrality globally by 2035, including for its cars by 2050. To this end, the company looks forward to making its future battery production at Toyota Battery Manufacturing, North Carolina (TBMNC) efficient with the implementation of recycled materials from 2025.

Redwood Materials has remarkably broadened its presence in Northern Nevada and is ready to lay the foundation of its subsequent Battery Material Campus beyond Charleston, South Carolina. This venture will strive to revive, process, and fabricate cell components with an estimated annual yield of 100 GWh. As specified in the agreement, Redwood is responsible for delivering raw materials that contain not less than 20 percent recycled nickel, 20 percent reprocessed lithium, and at least 50 percent secondhand cobalt for cathode production, as well as a focus on reprocessed copper for anode copper foil.

Source: Toyota