Who controls the minerals after the car dies

Japan and European partners are building a shared data system to track electric vehicle batteries from birth to teardown, aiming to recover lithium, nickel, and cobalt at high rates instead of letting those minerals leak to rivals. According to Japanese industry officials, the plan is to record where key materials were mined, who refined them, which factory built the cells, and where packs end up when cars are scrapped. The point is strategic, not just environmental. Tokyo and Brussels both want to cut exposure to critical minerals dominated by suppliers they see as geopolitical risks. By pooling data and setting common rules for reuse, they hope to build a circular battery economy that can feed their own automakers and grid storage projects.

This is happening as electric-vehicle demand is slowing from its breakneck early curve, but long-term battery demand is still expected to surge in the 2030s. Automakers are under pressure to prove that their next-generation vehicles are cleaner across the full life cycle, not just “zero tailpipe.” Regulators in Europe are moving toward rules that force high recycling rates and traceability. Japan, which once focused mainly on fuel-efficient hybrids, is now racing to show it can compete in full battery-electric platforms. Battery recyclers say the new Japan–EU cooperation could unlock serious economies of scale: if recyclers know exactly what chemistry is inside each pack, they can recover more material, faster, and cheaper.

Climate credibility and industrial strategy

The recycling push is also a hedge. If Japan and Europe can recover most of the valuable metals from used batteries, they depend less on volatile global supply chains, and they can argue that their green transition is not just offloading environmental damage to overseas mines. Energy analysts say this is quickly becoming part of national security language. Batteries are no longer only about cars; they back up power grids, stabilize wind and solar, and store surplus energy for factories. Whoever owns the recycling loop controls a strategic resource.

The flip side is cost. Building a continent-scale recycling and tracking system is not cheap. Industry groups warn that if mandates arrive faster than profits, smaller suppliers could be squeezed out. Policymakers counter that the alternative is worse: letting thousands of tons of high-value metals leave the system, only to buy them back later at a premium. In other words, battery recycling is no longer an afterthought. It is industrial policy.