- Japanese carmaker looks to strengthen parts supply chain amid rising demand
According to Nikkei Asia article published on April 12, 2023, Honda Motor has begun exploring a partnership with South Korean steelmaker POSCO Holdings on recycling electric vehicle batteries and other initiatives, the Japanese carmaker announced Tuesday, as it aims to strengthen a crucial procurement relationship.
Honda has an established relationship with POSCO in the procurement of steel sheets for auto bodies. The companies will now explore the supply of materials for cathodes and anodes, the core components of batteries, as well as battery recycling technology.
With EV sales and battery demand expected to rise, the importance of securing critical metals such as lithium and nickel, as well as recycling batteries, is increasing.
"We believe that this expansion of our partnership with POSCO... will help us further accelerate our electrification strategies," Honda Motor President Toshihiro Mibe said.
"POSCO Group's 'full value chain' for battery materials, which includes elemental materials such as lithium and nickel, cathode and anode materials, future battery materials and recycling, will be of great help to Honda's strategy to expand its electric vehicle business," POSCO Chairman Choi Jeong-Woo said.
Honda has been expanding its collaboration with other companies regarding batteries amid plans to transition all new vehicles to EVs or fuel cell vehicles by 2040. It signed a multiyear contract with Japanese trading house Hanwa Kogyo for priority procurement of industrial metals starting in 2025.
It also invested in a startup from the Japan Atomic Energy Agency with the aim of commercializing technology to efficiently recover industrial metals from battery materials.
Honda's partnership with POSCO goes beyond batteries, such as electrical steel for drive motors and steel sheets for automobiles produced through a process that reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
The use of steel sheets manufactured with reduced CO2 emissions is gaining popularity among other companies. Partering with Kobe Steel, Nissan Motor uses steel that is effectively carbon neutral in a new minivan.
Toyota Motor has also used steel from Kobe Steel for race vehicles, while Nippon Steel and JFE Steel have begun selling a low-emission "green steel."
