Toyota will recycle hybrid vehicle batteries in Thailand

Toyota Motors of Japan is shifting its battery recycling operations from Europe to Thailand to be more cost-effective and sustainable as the company increases its commitment to eco-friendly cars.

In addition to demonstrating Toyota’s commitment to sustainability – the company is aiming to produce only electric vehicles by 2025. The move also underscores Thailand’s rising role and advancing capabilities in both the auto sector and green industry.

Toyota Motor Thailand Co. collects and inspects used batteries and sorts them into three types of usage, depending on the level of deterioration. Recycling is part of the company’s Hybrid Electric Vehicle Battery Life Cycle Management (3R Scheme) project.

“We believe that the 3R Scheme will significantly reduce the cost of hybrid batteries, mitigate negative environmental impact and establish a solid foundation in preparation for the future growth of the electrified vehicle market,” said Michinobu Sugata, president of Toyota Motor Thailand.

As part of its commitment to the circular economy, Toyota said it would accept batteries from other carmakers for recycling.

Toyota has been recycling batteries at a plant in Belgium. That process is now moving to a facility in Chachoengsao province, east of Bangkok. The facility can currently handle 10,000 batteries a year and is run by TTK Logistics (Thailand) Co., part of Toyota Tsusho Corp., the company’s trading house.

Before this change, the Thai facility had been shipping batteries to the plant in Belgium for recycling.

Toyota Motor Thailand sells the recycled batteries at a third of the price of a brand-new battery. Moderately deteriorated batteries are reused as storage cells mainly for solar power at buildings and factories.

The Thai facility removes hazardous substances from the damaged batteries. It then ships them to Japan to extract reusable raw materials, such as nickel and cobalt, to make new batteries for hybrid vehicles.

Photo courtesy of https://www.toyota.co.th/en/news/o46bgg4B