Japan’s Itochu and Daikin partner to recover aluminium from commercial air conditioners

• High-purity aluminium recovery supports circular manufacturing
• Japan targets lower aluminium import dependence

Japan is stepping up efforts to strengthen domestic aluminium recycling as trading house Itochu Corporation and air-conditioner manufacturer Daikin Industries partner to recover high-purity aluminium from end-of-life commercial air conditioners. The initiative, expected to begin by the end of 2026, aims to create a closed-loop recycling system that enables recovered aluminium to be reused in new Daikin air conditioners.

Under the partnership, Itochu Metals will collect used commercial air conditioners from offices and commercial buildings before dismantling them into components such as heat exchangers and motors. Specialised recyclers will then recover aluminium, copper and other metals, with a focus on producing high-purity material suitable for manufacturing applications.

The move addresses a key gap in Japan’s recycling system. While residential air conditioners are covered under the country’s Home Appliance Recycling Law, commercial units are generally treated as industrial waste, where recovered metals are often sorted into broad categories, limiting their reuse in high-value applications.

According to Daikin, a small commercial air conditioner contains around 63 kg of recyclable materials, including approximately 7 kg of aluminium and 8 kg of copper. Japan shipped around 850,000 commercial air-conditioning units in FY2025. If nearly 300,000 units are recycled annually, the programme could recover approximately 2,000 t of aluminium and 2,300 t of copper every year.

The initiative also aligns with Japan’s resource security strategy. In April 2026, the government set a target for 40% recycled content in wrought aluminium used in domestically manufactured automobiles and other products, while setting a 30% target for copper. The programme also comes as Japan seeks to reduce its reliance on imported aluminium, with 28% (580,000 t) of its 2.11 mnt aluminium imports in 2025 sourced from the Middle East.