Axios NOV 2023 / by Joann Muller / Read original article
Some of Toyota’s future hybrid and electric cars will likely be powered by U.S.-built batteries made from recycled minerals stripped from old Priuses, under a deal announced today.
Why it matters: It’s the beginning of what could become a circular domestic battery supply chain, helping to free the United States from its dependence on Chinese components.
Driving the news: Toyota announced today it will buy important cathode active material and anode copper foil made from recycled content produced by Nevada-based Redwood Materials.
- Some of the recycled lithium, cobalt and nickel in those cathodes and anodes will come from Toyota’s oldest hybrid vehicles, under an agreement the two companies announced in 2022 to collect old batteries from end-of-life cars.
- Together, the two deals form the framework for what could become a closed-loop battery ecosystem in the U.S.
What they’re saying: “We believe this represents the first time that an automaker is both recycling end-of-life hybrid electric vehicle batteries, like those used in the Toyota Prius, and then returning those same recycled metals” into future vehicles, Redwood Materials said in a blog post.
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