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Rare earths are recycled from batteries to motors
Published:  25 June, 2013

Three Japanese companies – Honda, TDK and Japan Metals & Chemicals – are working together on a scheme to recycle rare-earth metals extracted from batteries to produce magnets for new electric vehicle motors.

Since March 2013, Honda has been supplying a Japanese battery manufacturer with rare-earth metals extracted from used nickel-metal hydride batteries for re-use in new batteries for hybrid vehicles. Now, the car-maker is expanding the programme to re-use extracted rare-earth metals in motors for hybrid vehicles, thus recycling these limited resources further.

The three companies plan to start the new process as soon as they have enough used nickel-metal hydride batteries to make the project practical.

The Japanese recycling project offers a new use for rare-earth materials