住友金属矿山在爱媛启用日本首座EV电池回收厂，年处理1万吨但量产尚需数年、短期无业绩增量

TOKYO -- Sumitomo Metal Mining has opened Japan's first recycling plant for electric vehicle batteries, a facility designed to stem the outflow of rare metals and contribute to a stable domestic supply the essential materials.
A ceremony was held Friday to mark the completion of the plant in Saijo, Ehime prefecture. The facility sits on a 10,000 square-meter site within the company's Toyo Smelter & Refinery complex.
The plant can process 10,000 metric tons a year, which is equivalent to 60,000 Nissan Leaf EVs equipped with 40-kilowatt batteries. Pilot operations began in July, and Sumitomo Metal aims to achieve full operations in a few years.
The recycling process starts with a pre-processing manufacturer crushing used batteries into a "black mass" powder, which is then transferred to Sumitomo Metal. The black mass goes through a two-stage process to extract lithium, cobalt and nickel.
Due to the slow adoption of EVs, Japan's EV battery recycling sector has been slow to get off the ground. Sumitomo Metal decided to invest despite the headwinds, driven by economic security concerns surrounding the outflow of EV batteries from Japan and the resources they contain.
"Competition for [battery] collection is intensifying due to China actively establishing refining plants, among other factors," said Masaru Takebayashi, general manager of the non-ferrous metals division at Sumitomo Metal.
"We seek to make effective use of limited resources and support the stable future supply of battery materials," Takebayashi added.
Used EVs accounted for approximately 80% of all EVs exported from Japan through 2024, according to the Japan Research Institute. An estimated 17.5 billion yen ($114 million) in rare metals were shipped out with the vehicles.
Subsidies for new EVs have depressed demand for used EVs in Japan. Japanese buyers of used EVs are also at a disadvantage against overseas purchasers because of the weak yen.
Last year, used-EV exports reached 29,300 units, nearly quadrupling in five years. The majority go to emerging economies such as Sri Lanka and Kenya.
Meanwhile, China holds more than 70% of the global market share for lithium and cobalt refining and processing, according to the International Energy Agency. Last year, the country lifted a ban on black mass imports.
Resource hoarding has also become an international issue. The U.S. began restricting exports of black mass at the end of August. The European Union mandates that certain amounts of recycled materials be used in battery manufacturing.
The Japanese government supports battery recycling through subsidies and other measures, but the efforts are insufficient, analysts say.
"Japan is a supplier of waste batteries and is lagging behind in resource management," said Yoshikiyo Shimamine, senior fellow at the Daiichi Life Research Institute.
Another challenge is maintaining a stable black mass supply for battery recycling. Sumitomo Metal initially projected that over 80% of the black mass accepted at its new recycling plant would be domestic, but this figure was lowered to around 20% in May.
Acquiring black mass from overseas will require circumventing efforts by the U.S. and China to corner supplies. In May, Sumitomo Metal announced a plan to import black mass recovered in Australia, in partnership with sister trading house Sumitomo Corp.
Sumitomo Metal aims to "procure black mass mainly from Western countries," Takebayashi said.