Abstract
Achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, will greatly depend upon maximizing the use of storage batteries (LIBs). Strengthening the entire battery supply chain including resource circulation, which includes material development and recycling, will also be required. The construction of a safe and efficient recycling system is key to the processing of LIB since there are safety concerns, such as ignition. In addition, metal resources cannot be recovered without appropriate processing. Together, our company and Matsuda Sangyo Co., Ltd., have been developing since 2011 a LIB recycling technology that uses cement manufacturing equipment. In 2017, we jointly established a roasting facility at our group company, Tsuruga Cement Co., Ltd. This led to the start-up of the world’s first demonstration test utilizing this type of cement manufacturing process. Since 2020, we have been engaged in the recycling of LIBs emitted as industrial waste: more than 40 kinds of large LIBs for automotive use and LIBs for stationary use have been roasted. By expanding the scale of this system, we aim to continue to contribute to the recycling of LIBs through 1) low environmental impact processing and 2) metal resource recycling.
