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Honda, Japan Metals & Chemicals to extract and reuse rare earth

Not many of us are aware of what goes into our electronic gadgets or automobiles. Sure, we know plenty about the working and parts of technologies but the base materials used are far too many to keep track of. One of the most used materials in electronics and automobiles is rare earth. The element, while not exactly scarce, isn’t found in concentrated forms which makes it expensive and difficult to obtain. As part of its efforts to recycle products, Japanese automaker, Honda, and Japan Metals & Chemicals have come together to extract rare earth out of used parts in Honda’s products. This should help sustain the material and help recover the planet’s rare earth which may soon dwindle given our demand for consumer goods.

Honda to Reuse Rare Earth Metals Contained in Used Parts

The decision to recycle rare earth isn’t an experimental process. The two companies will use the extracted material to build other products. Honda’s hybrid vehicles will be the source of the extraction process where the EVs’ nickel-metal hybride batteries will be used to harness the material. The initiative is the first of its kind in the world on a mass production scale and will see the automaker up its green ratings further.

Earlier, Honda had been using a heat treatment method on used nickel-metal hydride batteries. It also recycled nickel-containing scrap. But Japan Metals & Chemicals developed a process whereby it successfully stabilized the extraction process which led to the possibility of rare earth extraction and gave rise to the feasibility of such an initiative. Incidentally, the purity of the rare earth is as high as newly mined metals.

The process enables over 80 percent of rare earth to be extracted and recycled. Honda will also look to its other products to source the materials from and will seek to expand recycling of rare earth from more metals and not just nickel-metal hydride batteries.

Via: Honda

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