Divyank Kushagra Bansal 
To create a closed-loop battery ecosystem for its growing number of EVs, Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) is collaborating with North Carolina-based Cirba Solutions to expand its battery recycling network across the country. The joint effort will also help Toyota optimise its logistics network for end-of-life battery collection, including those from hybrid (HEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and battery electric vehicles (BEV).
According to Christopher Yang, Group VP of Business Development, Toyota Motor North America, “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.” Toyota expects to reduce its overall transportation and logistics costs by at least 70% by reducing the average distance driven for battery collection and recycling purposes. This will in turn lead to a reduction of overall transport-related emissions as well. Based on Toyota’s 2022 data estimates, the average distance in question can come down from 1,251 miles to 582 miles.
Touted as one of the largest battery recycling companies in North America, Cirba Solutions brings 30 years of experience and offers a coast-to-coast collection and recycling network. The collaboration will focus on the collection, transportation, dismantling and processing of end-of-life lithium-ion car batteries from the Midwest and East Coast regions. The processing will take place at Cirba Solutions’ Lancaster, Ohio facility, which aims to offer up to a 95% recovery rate of critical minerals from the scrap batteries. The recovered material will then be sent back into the supply chain as battery-grade metals.
Toyota claims it currently collects approximately 25,000 used automotive batteries from its dealership network per year. These are primarily nickel-metal hydride batteries found in its hybrid electric vehicles. However, since its collaboration with Cirba is meant to focus largely on Lithium-ion batteries, it would have been interesting to have figures of its Lithium-ion battery collection, which have not been revealed. Toyota has only stated that it ‘expects’ the number of end-of-life lithium-ion batteries to rise.
