Leveraging Expertise in Automotive Aluminum Recycling to Tackle Train-to-Train Initiatives

In the Light Metals business, we handle materials such as aluminum, silicon metal, zinc, and magnesium. Beyond functioning as a trading company, we operate aluminum alloy manufacturing plants in Japan, Indonesia, and China, where we produce and sell our own products. Recently, in addition to handling recycled materials for automobiles, we have also been working on horizontal recycling for railway car bodies. We spoke with Hiroyuki Kudo from the Non-ferrous Materials Division about the current initiatives and future outlook of the business.
Note: Information is accurate as of March 2025.

From Sourcing Raw Materials to Quality Support

ーCan you provide an overview of the light metals business?

Kudo: Our business began with sourcing aluminum ingots from overseas and selling them in Japan. Over time, we expanded our market domestically through contract processing businesses. From there, we established joint ventures with manufacturing partners, extending our value chain into production to ensure stable supply and cost competitiveness for our customers.

We procure primary and recycled ingots, as well as alloy materials, from various countries and supply them to a wide range of customers, from the Honda Group to general manufacturers. To ensure stable supply, we are focusing on securing raw materials more than ever. This includes not only identifying new suppliers domestically and internationally but also providing technical advice and conducting environmental surveys for these suppliers, thereby enhancing our ability to make quality proposals to our customers.

Long-Standing Relationships Beyond the Automotive Industry

ーWhat types of companies do you supply materials to outside of the Honda Group?

Kudo: One segment includes other automakers and their affiliated parts manufacturers. The other segment is non-automotive, such as agricultural machinery manufacturers and building material companies producing aluminum sashes.

ーWe've heard you're now working on horizontal recycling for subway car bodies (Train-to-Train). Could you tell us more about this initiative?

Kudo: Yes, while the automotive industry prides itself on being ahead in recycling compared to other industries, we've been exploring ways to horizontally expand aluminum recycling to other sectors. One of our long-standing partners specializes in recycling large vehicles like trains and buses, which led us to propose this initiative to a major Japanese railway company. Together, we've been advancing this project.

In 2024, as part of a pilot project, we dismantled and sorted a discarded railway car body, recycling the aluminum scrap into secondary ingots at Honda Trading Aluminum, a group company. Currently, we are verifying the application of these recycled materials for the parts of the railway car body and interior components. While challenges arise along the way, we share a common purpose with our partners and continue to work through trial and error.

ーAre there technical differences between recycling aluminum for cars and trains?

Kudo: Yes, the standards for aluminum used in automobiles and railway vehicles differ. Understanding these standards is essential, but the real challenge lies in improving the precision of scrap sorting. This is where the dismantling techniques and sorting expertise of our partner companies become a significant strength.

To produce high-quality recycled materials, it's crucial to understand the characteristics and materials of the railway car body and extract them with precision. Additionally, our expertise lies in efficiently producing materials that meet customer specifications by combining various scrap materials and additives. This accumulated know-how is a key competitive advantage for us.

Maintaining High Quality with In-House Testing Facilities

ーWhat are the strengths of Honda Trading Aluminum in producing recycled ingots?

Kudo: Our aluminum manufacturing plants are equipped with in-house testing facilities. These allow us to test material quality, including impurities, metal structures, and melting yields. The proximity of manufacturing and research facilities enables us to conduct development, production, and quality testing seamlessly and with speed, which I believe is a significant advantage.

At Honda Trading, we handle a wide range of materials for the automotive industry and have been engaged in aluminum recycling since the 1990s. This long history has allowed us to accumulate expertise, which we now apply to our manufacturing processes.

Challenges and Future Outlook

ーWhat challenges do you face, and what is your outlook for the future?

Kudo: While recycling is essential, maintaining profitability while continuing the business is a significant challenge. Balancing recycling efforts with economic viability is something we grapple with daily, and it remains a key issue.

As for the future, we're seeing a growing momentum across various industries to reduce CO₂ emissions and utilize recycled materials. For the horizontal recycling of railway car body that we're currently working on, we aim to go beyond solving immediate challenges and move toward more comprehensive vehicle recycling. We also hope to expand these initiatives to customers in other industries.