Japan and Europe are set to collaborate on a battery recycling system to facilitate the exchange of information regarding mining sites and suppliers of minerals used in battery production. The system, scheduled to be introduced by 2025, aims to counter China’s dominance as a supplier of rare metals such as lithium. The tracing initiative seeks to prevent the outflow of these strategic rare materials from the regions and facilitate their reuse.
Japan’s Information-technology Promotion Agency (IPA), under the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, will sign a memorandum of understanding with European partners on Monday to facilitate information exchange and mutual certification. Japan and Europe already operate electronic platforms for managing information on electric vehicle batteries.
Japan is advancing its industrial data platform named Ouranos Ecosystem, which is expected to involve around 50 companies, including automobile manufacturers such as Toyota Motor, Nissan Motor, and Honda Motor, as well as the battery joint venture between Toyota and Panasonic, Prime Planet Energy & Solutions.
In Europe, the public-private data platform Catena-X is already operational, led by automotive manufacturers like BMW and the Mercedes-Benz Group. It is planned to connect Ouranos and Catena-X by 2025 with confidential information pertaining to Japanese companies’ core competencies, such as suppliers and procurement volumes, remaining undisclosed.
The initiative’s main goal is to exchange information about the materials used in current batteries and enable their traceability to prevent outflow beyond their own territories.
The European Union has decided to introduce regulations mandating the recycling of EV battery materials such as lithium and cobalt within the region. To comply with these regulations, “battery passports” like Catena-X and Ouranos are required to record and manage information along the entire supply chain, including the countries of origin of the materials, production history, recycling rate, and carbon dioxide emissions. The system will enable Japanese companies certified by Ouranos to be automatically certified in the EU.
Source: https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Supply-Chain/Japan-Europe-to-link-industrial-data-platforms-for-EV-battery-materials
