Revival Rare Metals-New Recycling Technology-May 26, 20:14

Three months after Russia's military invasion of Ukraine.

Now, the prices of rare metals, which are indispensable for smartphones, personal computers, and EVs = electric vehicles, are soaring due to supply instability.

However, it is Japanese companies that do not fall for free.

Our specialty recycling technology is about to evolve further in the field of rare metals.

(Saki Hayakawa, Reporter, Ministry of Economic Affairs)

Reuse nickel waste liquid

It seems that the recycling of rare metals is progressing ...


After hearing that from the interviewee, I visited a plating company in Komagane City, the southern part of Nagano Prefecture.

Here, we are working on the plating of plastics used for automobile parts.



Automakers are working to reduce the weight of the car body toward the spread of EV = electric vehicles, but it seems that if metal is attached to plastic, not only gloss but also strength can be increased.


For this reason, the need for plating is increasing.



Metals such as gold, copper, and chrome are indispensable for plating, but one of the rare metals "nickel" is used most by this company.

The plating room, which was guided by the person in charge of the company, was lined with pools like "fish cages" containing green liquid.



This green liquid is a melted rare metal nickel.

Plastic products are dipped in this and plated.



The cost of purchasing the nickel.


Last year it was about 135 million yen a year, but it is expected to increase by 20% this year.



"If nothing is done, management will become even more difficult."



Normally, in the manufacturing industry, when costs rise, recycling is promoted in an attempt to make effective use of valuable materials as much as possible.



However, the recycling of this company that I interviewed was a step-up effort to "do not miss a little waste."

In the plating process, nickel is applied to plastic products and then washed with water.



This washed water contains a small amount of nickel that has run off.



The "advanced" recycling that the company is currently working on concentrates this water containing a small amount of nickel 10 times.


I'm trying to use it as a plating solution again.

It was said that the idea had been in place for about five years, but it was decided to start in response to the recent price hike.



It is currently in the testing stage, but if it goes into full operation, it is expected to lead to an annual cost reduction of 35 million yen.

Tsukada Riken Industry President Satoshi Shimoshima


"Metal prices are rising due to rapid changes in world conditions such as Russia's military invasion of Ukraine. Nickel prices may still rise in the long run. Efficient recycling Since it is required, we would like to continue research and development so that the same production volume and sales can be achieved with a small amount of resources. "

It is said that many companies are worried about the soaring prices of rare metals.


The company is also considering turning this recycling technology into a business.

Demand for rare metals is rising

Rare metals other than nickel are also soaring.



According to the country, there are more than 30 types of rare metals, but the prices are higher than they were three years ago before Corona.



Looking at the prices of major rare metals,


▼ nickel ... about 2.1 times, ▼ palladium ... about 1.5 times, ▼ cobalt ... about 2.2 times (before the spread of new corona infection = compared to late May 2019 LME)



Further rare metals According to an expert who has been researching for more than 30 years, rare metals are being used in many products such as EVs and wind power generators in an attempt to achieve carbon neutrality, and demand is expected to increase further. increase.

Professor Toru Okabe, Institute of Industrial Science , University of Tokyo


"Among them, automobiles have been made of iron, aluminum, and plastic, but with the electrification, many rare metals have been used for batteries and sensors, so to speak, they have become" running rare metals. " In addition, prices are skyrocketing due to supply instability due to the Ukraine problem. Demand for rare metals will continue to increase, but it will not return to the old situation. "

Looking ahead to mass disposal of batteries

Recycling of "lithium," one of the rare metals widely used around us, such as batteries for smartphones and personal computers, is also attracting attention.



The use of lithium will continue to expand as EVs become more widespread.



I heard that there is a company in Odate City, Akita Prefecture that is trying to establish the lithium recycling technology, so I went to interview.

The parent company of this company is a major domestic company engaged in the refining and processing of non-ferrous metals.



The factory I visited used to be a mine, and it seems that the technology cultivated in the mining business is now being used for recycling.

First, the discarded lithium-ion battery is completely heat-treated at a high temperature exceeding 700 degrees.



A special machine called a "crushing and sorting machine" collects iron, copper foil, aluminum, etc. contained in batteries and sells them to smelters.



However, lithium-ion batteries contain rare metals in addition to iron, copper and aluminum.



Development has been progressing to see if this rare metal can be used again.

"It contains nickel, cobalt, and lithium."



The person in charge of the company showed me the black powder in the bottle.



It is the "black mass" that remains after the batteries are heat-treated, crushed and sorted, and iron, copper, and aluminum are taken out.



This black mass, also known as a nickel-cobalt mixture, has been reused as an alloy material, but the company developed a technology to extract only "lithium carbonate," which is a material for lithium-ion batteries, more than 10 years ago. I have been developing from.



Recently, the demonstration of the technology has been completed, and we are aiming for practical use in cooperation with battery manufacturers.



This is an initiative in anticipation of an era in which a large amount of lithium-ion batteries used in smartphones and EVs will be discarded.

DOWA ECO-SYSTEM Noriyuki Tanaka, Chief


"There is a great need for lithium-ion batteries toward carbon neutrality. With that, we believe that the time will come when a large amount of lithium-ion batteries will be discarded, so we will collect them in preparation for that time. I want to quickly create a system that can be recycled. "

The factory in Akita Prefecture has the capacity to process 100 tons of lithium-ion batteries a month, and the company plans to set up a new base in Okayama Prefecture by the end of May.

Japan with strong recycling technology

In Japan, which relies on imports for most of its energy resources, technological innovation in recycling has progressed after the two oil crises of the 1970s.


Due to the oil shock, it became difficult to obtain products such as plastics, and recycling of Styrofoam began, and energy-saving technologies were also developed.



The prices of rare metals, natural gas, and everything else have skyrocketed in the wake of the military invasion.


Experts point out that recycling of difficult rare metals will become more and more important in the future.

Professor Toru Okabe


"Now everyone has a smartphone and is riding a high-performance car, so the demand for rare metals will not decrease. On the other hand, mining natural ores and processing them into rare metals has an environmental burden. It's big. Japan is an advanced country in terms of recycling rare metals, so I think it will be necessary to innovate to reduce costs in the future. "

Manufacturing sites are facing a difficult situation where prices of various raw materials are soaring.



As in the case of the former oil crisis, various ingenuity to repel predicament sprouted new technologies, eventually leading the world ... I hope that the recycling technology that various companies are working on will become the same in the future. I feel it.

Reporter of the Ministry of Economic Affairs


Saki Hayakawa


Joined in 2009 After working at the Niigata Bureau and the Metropolitan Area Bureau,

he was in charge of the electrical industry of


the Ministry of Economic Affairs .