Japan Considers Requiring EV Makers to Disclose Carbon Emissions For Battery Production: Report

A charging device for a Nissan Leaf vehicle is seen in Melbourne, Australia, on July 11, 2019. (Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

Japan is planning to make carbon footprint declaration mandatory for electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing, following the lead of the European Union, Nikkei Asia reported on Tuesday.

The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is looking to implement the rule in 2024, the same year that the EU will begin requiring battery manufacturers to disclose their carbon emissions.

EV makers in Japan will be required to disclose the amount of carbon dioxide emitted when producing batteries for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids if the plan goes ahead, according to the report.

The report states that the rule will help to determine companies’ subsidy eligibility. Japan intends to make the carbon footprint data available to consumers and establish a third-party body to validate the data.

This follows Japan’s announcement earlier this year of subsidies for companies to develop lithium-ion battery production facilities in the country as part of the government’s effort to secure the country’s battery supply chain.

EVs generate less carbon than gasoline cars, but manufacturing lithium-ion batteries used in EVs is “more material-intensive” than combustion engines, Yang Shao-Horn, a mechanical engineering professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said in a report last year.

Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.'s Universal Powertrain Mounting System with a two-layer pallet structure, compatible with EV, e-POWER (HV), and gasoline vehicles is pictured in Kawachi-gun, in Tochigi prefecture, Japan, on Oct. 8, 2021. (Maki Shiraki/Reuters)

Currently, most lithium is extracted from hard rock mines or underground brine reservoirs, and much of the energy used to extract and process it comes from CO2-emitting fossil fuels. Particularly in hard rock mining, for every tonne of mined lithium, 15 tonnes of CO2 are emitted into the air,” the report reads.

“To synthesize the materials needed for production, heat between 800 to 1,000 degrees celsius is needed—a temperature that can only cost-effectively be reached by burning fossil fuels, which again adds to CO2 emissions,” Yang said.

Yang said the amount of carbon dioxide emitted during the lengthy process of making a battery differs based on the materials used, how they are sourced, and what energy sources are used in manufacturing.

“The vast majority of lithium-ion batteries—about 77 percent of the world’s supply—are manufactured in China, where coal is the primary energy source. (Coal emits roughly twice the amount of greenhouse gases as natural gas, another fossil fuel that can be used in high-heat manufacturing),” the professor said.

The U.N. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) reports that this uptick in EV adoption and increased demand for lithium batteries presents a significant environmental challenge.

“As demand for lithium increases and production is tapped from deeper rock mines and brines, the challenges of mitigating environmental risk will increase,” UNCTAD states.

US-Japan Trade Deal

In March, Japan struck a trade deal with the United States on EV battery minerals to strengthen their battery supply chains. The deal will grant Japanese automakers wider access to a new $7,500 U.S. EV tax credit.

The agreement prohibits the two countries from enacting bilateral export restrictions on the minerals most critical for EV batteries, according to senior Biden administration officials. The minerals include lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, and manganese.

The deal also aims to reduce U.S.-Japanese dependence on China for such materials by requiring collaboration to combat “non-market policies and practices” of other countries in the sector and on conducting investment reviews of foreign investments in their critical minerals supply chains.

“As the demand for electric vehicle batteries is expected to grow significantly, securing important minerals essential for their production is an urgent issue,” Trade Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told reporters.

Katie Spence and Reuters contributed to this report.