Honda Motor Starts Rare Earth Recycling from Used Parts

Honda Motor Co. announced on April 17, 2012 that the company will begin recycling rare earth metals from its own used products. This will be the world's first recycling initiative for rare earth metals. The company says it is possible to extract, at a high collection rate of 80 percent or above, rare earth metals with the same purity of those that are mined and refined.

Used nickel hydrogen batteries from hybrid vehicles, collected from Japan's domestic dealers and abroad, will be disassembled at a plant of Japan Metals & Chemicals Co., a major manufacturer of ferroalloys. Rare earth metals will be dissolved, extracted and recycled for a wide range of company products, including nickel hydrogen batteries.

The company is also planning to extract rare earth metals from other used products and to expand its recycling operations.

Panasonic Launches Appliances Made with Recycled Resources (Related JFS article)
University of Tokyo Develops New Technology to Recover Rare Earth Metal from Scrap Magnets (Related JFS article)

Posted: 2012/07/01 06:00:15 AM

TAG Ecosystem , Manufacturing industry , Material reduction