Toyota teaming with Cirba Solutions to expand battery recycling network

Toyota Motor North America is teaming with battery recycling materials and management company Cirba Solutions to expanding its battery recycling network.

Toyota said Thursday that its battery collection efforts will include those from hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles.

Toyota's collaboration with Cirba Solutions will focus on the collection, transportation, dismantling and processing of end-of-life lithium-ion electrified vehicle batteries from the Midwest and East Coast regions. Processing will take place at Cirba Solutions' Lancaster, Ohio facility. The plant will use advanced technology to extract critical minerals from scrap and end-of-life batteries with an up to 95% recovery rate, then supply battery-grade metals back into the supply chain.

"Cirba Solutions' large and well-established transportation and recycling network ensures Toyota has nationwide battery collection and recycling to reduce both our costs as well as our operational carbon footprint," Christopher Yang, group vice president, Business Development, Toyota Motor North America, said in a statement.

Toyota currently collects approximately 25,000 used automotive batteries, mostly nickel-metal hydride batteries found in its hybrid electric vehicles, from its dealership network each year. The automaker expects the number of batteries, particularly end-of-life lithium-ion batteries, to rise as the number of battery electric vehicles it sells increases in the future.

Through the agreement with Cirba Solutions, Toyota anticipates reducing its overall transportation and logistics costs by at least 70% from reducing the average miles driven for collection and recycling from 1,251 to 582, based on 2022 data, and by focusing on the Midwest and East Coast regions.