News

Nihon Kagaku Sangyo Co., Ltd. (President: KADOYA Hiroki) is pleased to announce that it recently decided to build a pilot plant in the Iwaki Yotsukura Core Industrial Park located in the city of Iwaki in Fukushima Prefecture. We are building this plant as part of our efforts to conduct technological validation aimed at commercial development of a metal recycling process for used secondary batteries from electric vehicles (EVs). Construction of the plant is due to start during the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, and to be completed in March 2026; plans call for the plant to start operating as soon as construction is completed.
 
In October 2023, we finalized and announced our New Mid-Term Management Plan. As we strive to contribute to a recycling society and to decarbonization by the year 2030, we set out in the management plan a three-part vision for our chemicals business, aspiring to develop a one-of-a-kind chemicals business, a cutting-edge materials business, and an advanced metals recycling business. We are currently pursuing proactive, strategic initiatives to make our vision a reality.
 
For many years, we have conducted research and development on the separation and refining technologies required for metal recycling, as well as on battery materials. By combining these proprietary technologies to generate synergies, it will be possible to separate and refine metals such as nickel, cobalt, and lithium found in used EV secondary batteries and reuse them as EV battery materials. We are therefore conducting technological validation at the pilot plant to accelerate technological development including development targeting mass production.
 
In addition, we are using this technological development as the basis to collaborate with various partners in establishing closed-loop recycling of EV batteries with a view to reducing the environmental impact of not only Nihon Kagaku Sangyo itself, but also our entire supply chain.
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