EV growth puts local battery recovery capacity into sharper focus

Insider Spotlight

• Rising electrified-vehicle adoption is increasing pressure on the Philippines to build domestic systems for safely handling used automotive batteries
• Toyota and Lexus have sold about 60,000 electrified vehicles locally since 2009, widening the future pool of batteries requiring recovery
• En Tsumugi is investing in black-mass processing and digital traceability as industry groups call for stronger policy and multisectoral coordination
  
  
  

The Philippines’ growing electrified-vehicle population is creating a need for local battery recovery capacity, as automakers and recyclers prepare for larger volumes of end-of-life batteries and seek to recover valuable minerals instead of relying on disposal.

En Tsumugi ELV Dismantling Corp. is expanding its Mexico, Pampanga, operations into what it describes as the country’s first EV battery recycling facility. It will use black-mass technology to recover lithium, copper, nickel, manganese and cobalt from used lithium-ion batteries.

The three-phase equipment installation is targeted for completion by end-2026, with commercial services expected by early 2027.

Resource recovery 

Toyota Motor Philippines said 1.3 million Toyota vehicles are operating in the country, including around 60,000 Toyota and Lexus electrified vehicles sold since 2009. That installed base underscores the longer-term need for systems covering battery handling, resource recovery and traceability.

“Today, the number of Toyota vehicles in operation in the Philippines has grown to 1.3 million, including around 60,000 Toyota and Lexus xEVs sold since 2009. As energy security becomes an urgent concern, the shift toward electrified mobility will accelerate, and we must strengthen our ability to manage batteries safely and recover valuable resources responsibly,” Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) president Masando Hashimoto said in a press statement.

Propriety software

En Tsumugi, a technical and sustainability partner of TMP, has dismantled 516 vehicles since its establishment, including old taxi fleets and fire-damaged EVs requiring specialized handling. It is also the fourth model dismantling facility in Southeast Asia under Toyota Motor Corp.’s Global 100 Dismantlers Project, TMP said.

En Tsumugi is introducing proprietary software to track dismantled units, recovered materials and their final destinations in real time. Representatives from JICA and CAMPI also pointed to the need for multisectoral collaboration and comprehensive policies under the country’s Extended Producer Responsibility law as electrified-vehicle adoption accelerates. —Vanessa Hidalgo | Ed: Corrie S. Narisma