Interview
Emulsion Flow Technologies Innovative Process Aims to Scale Recycling of Rare Metals Around the World

Emulsion Flow Technologies Ltd. (EFT) was founded by Dr. Hiroshi Suzuki and Dr. Hirochika Naganawa in 2021 as a spinoff of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). They have a simple but ambitious goal, “Lead Our Limited Rare Metals to the Future.”

Critical metals and minerals are crucial for the electrified, clean future, as the world shifts away from burning of dirty fossil fuels towards using electricity to power transportation, homes, and industry. However, batteries, electric vehicles, and cleantech components need rare earth elements and other key metals such as cobalt, nickel, and lithium.

According to reports, the world could face significant shortages of these key minerals by 2025. Another challenge is that only a few countries control most rare earths, creating a risk of supply chain interruptions. Moreover, mining of these minerals has been linked to environmental degradation and, in some cases, human rights abuses.

In light of these challenges, EFT believes rare metal recycling is essential to make the industry more sustainable. Their products enable effective recycling, supporting a shift from a linear to a circular economy and ensuring the sustainable use of resources.

Another uniqueness is that the two founders, Dr. Suzuki and Dr. Naganawa, came from an academic and engineering research background and had little business or start-up experience.

“JAEA started an open innovation program and encouraged engineers to start a business,” said Yuriko Iida, EFT’s Chief Global Officer. “So our founders started thinking about using their technology for a social contribution, and had motivation to apply.”

EFT’s process, developed from the founders’ nuclear research, is a unique solvent extraction technology which is to recover specific materials with high purity. According to the company, it is a revolutionary technology that enables solvent extraction with high efficiency because of its design of the modular unit, in contrast to the conventional extraction technology that requires large space for the plant.

Another benefit of EFT’s model is its size of the plant. It is a modular type and easy to scale up to meet any particular company’s needs. In fact, EFT has launched their small-scale demonstration plant to efficiently recycle retired lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles and electronic devices. Their process is to extract rare metals with solvents of their original recipe in a highly productive, low-cost, and environmentally friendly manner.

“As we have a more compact and modular type of plant, we can install them anywhere customers need,” said Iida.

Until recently, the focus of the cleantech industry has been to rapidly expand production of electric vehicles and batteries.

For example, European countries will apply new regulations that mandate recycling and reuse of batteries to battery or car manufacturers. Japan might also follow, and other major markets like the United States are considering similar requirements. This means that, around the world, more car manufacturers, utilities, and other companies will need to figure out how to recycle and recover critical and rare minerals.

“European countries are stricter for sustainability, and have already started the scheme for battery recycling,” said Iida. “But they face a lot of challenges with conventional technology, because it takes a lot of money.”

EFT sees an opportunity to help companies address these challenges. By any standard, EFT has made remarkable progress, testing commercial applications of their technology in just a little more than three years. EFT’s potential has been recognized, as they were selected as one of 100 startups to watch by Forbes Japan, won an award from the Japan Venture Capital Association in 2023, and were selected as one of the Innovation Leaders Summit Top100 Startups that same year. Most recently, they participated in JETRO’s Fast Track pitch challenge in Singapore.

“We are fortunate to have a lot of support from JETRO,” said Iida. “JETRO has a lot of global startup programs or innovation pitch contents, a good opportunity to match with strong potential partners.”

EFT has also made strides in raising capital, and had a Series B round close earlier this year.

In a press statement announcing their investment this past February, MOL Plus stated that they hope that EFT’s initiatives will make a significant contribution to solving the social issue of resource scarcity associated with the mining of rare metal resources.” Moreover, they plan to collaborate with EFT to expand its supply chains and operations in Southeast Asia. EFT is also exploring new applications for their technology, including potentially promising to separate and recover environmental pollutants.

“We can also use this technology in wastewater management, making it also an environmental solution,” said Iida.

To make an impact, Iida believes raising capital, expanding operations, and bringing on new customers is important. While EFT does have a strong social and environmental purpose, expanding and scaling will be essential to meeting those goals.

“We should pursue growth, because we need to scale up, and scaling up the business allows us to better contribute to the mission of having a social contribution,” said Iida.