Nissan, Sumitomo enter battery recycling partnership

Two Japan-based conglomerates, Nissan and Sumitomo Corp., have signed a partnership to build what they are describing as the country’s first plant dedicated to reusing and recycling lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles. The new arrangement will be operated by 4R Energy Corp. and will be in located in the city of Namie, Japan.

4R was established in 2010 by Nissan and Sumitomo Corp. to focus on the reuse of electric-car batteries. Since then, the company has developed a system designed to quickly measure the performance of used batteries. 4R indicates it plans to apply this technology to batteries collected in Japan at the Namie plant.

The plant will serve as the global center for 4R’s development and manufacturing, according to the two companies. The batteries recycled and refabricated at the factory will be used to offer exchangeable, refabricated