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Toyota to Recycle Hybrid Batteries

Japanese manufacturer Toyota has a goal, a very sane one, given the size and needs of the company: make money. From everything, anything and however. Since selling cars proved to be quite a hard nut to crack last year and making them appeared somewhat as a lost art in light of recent recalls, Toyota is switching its focus towards the future.

In an attempt to kill two birds with one stone (making money and saving the planet, that is), Toyota announced today it will be partnering with Sumitomo Metal Mining and Primearth EV Energy to help it recycle the nickel-metal-hydride batteries which are used in hydride vehicles.

This is the first endeavor of its kind in Japan, with more than one good outcome to result from it. Until now, such batteries were destroyed and the nickel in them reused for stainless-steel production, thus exiting the automotive industry. By recycling nickel, Toyota will be capable to use the material for the same products it was originally intended for: batteries.

The benefits of recycling are, as said, diverse. Toyota will undoubtedly save money by doing so and might even make future batteries cheaper. The environment will also benefit the process.

“The establishment of this recycling system in Japan will accelerate the creation of a sustainable, recycling-based society, a priority measure for TMC, and is a showcase for recovery and recycling technologies as effective means of promoting and reinforcing recycling in response to global resource limitations,”
the Japanese manufacturer says in the statement announcing the partnership.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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