Itochu and Daikin partner to recover aluminium from commercial air conditioners

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Itochu and Daikin Industries will jointly start a business to recover aluminium from used commercial air conditioners in Japan. The initiative is aimed at increasing the use of recycled materials as Japan looks to reduce its dependence on imported aluminium amid supply chain disruptions linked to conflict in the Middle East. Nearly one-third of Japan's aluminium imports currently come from the region.

Under the project, Itochu Metals, a subsidiary of Itochu, will collect used Daikin commercial air conditioners from office buildings and other commercial facilities. The units will be dismantled, and components such as heat exchangers and motors will be separated. Specialised scrap processors will then recover aluminium, as well as iron and copper.

Commercial air conditioners are not covered by Japan's home appliance recycling law, which applies only to residential units. As a result, commercial units are generally treated as industrial waste. Although industrial waste processors recover materials from these units, they have typically been sorted into broad groups such as non-ferrous metals and plastics. This has produced lower-purity metals that are difficult to reuse in products with high aluminium content, including air conditioners and automobiles.

The new recycling process will use more detailed sorting methods to recover high-purity aluminium and other metals so they can be reused in the production of Daikin air conditioners.

Daikin said a small mass-produced commercial air conditioner contains about 63 kg of recyclable metal scrap and plastics, including around 7 kg of aluminium and 8 kg of copper.

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According to the Japan Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Industry Association, around 850,000 commercial air conditioners were shipped in Japan during fiscal 2025. Daikin is estimated to account for 40 per cent to 50 per cent of the market. Recycling 300,000 units a year could recover about 2,000 tonnes of aluminium scrap and 2,300 tonnes of copper scrap.

Itochu Metals already collects and maintains store shelving and refrigerated display cabinets used by convenience stores across Japan. The company operates a nationwide collection and transport network with 570 partners and 22 maintenance bases. This network will also be used to support the air-conditioner recycling business.

Itochu plans to expand the programme in the future to include commercial air conditioners made by other manufacturers, including those installed in convenience stores.

In April, the Japanese government introduced targets for the use of recycled materials. It said recycled material should account for 40 per cent of the wrought aluminium used in automobiles and other products manufactured in Japan, while the target for copper is 30 per cent.

Trade data from Japan's Ministry of Finance showed that the country imported 2.11 million tonnes of aluminium metal in 2025. Of this volume, 580,000 tonnes, or 28 per cent, came from the Middle East.