04, October, 2021

BHP, Prime Planet Energy & Solutions and Toyota Tsusho Corporation enter into MoU
on the back of nickel sulphate supply
BHP, Prime Planet Energy & Solutions (PPES) and Toyota Tsusho Corporation (TTC) areannouncing today a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the creation of a Green
Electric Vehicle (EV) Ecosystem that will enhance sustainability, recyclability and traceability.
The MoU signed between the three organisations has established a collaboration framework
beginning with the supply of nickel sulphate from BHP’s new production plant in Nickel West(NiW), Western Australia to PPES.
PPES is one of Japan’s leading lithium-ion battery producers, and a joint venture between
Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) and Panasonic Corporation. TTC is a general trading
company that is part of the Toyota group.
BHP will supply PPES with nickel sulphate from its recently constructed Nickel West facility
in Western Australia. This will enable PPES to develop lower carbon batteries that will besupplied to EV manufacturers, including Toyota. Toyota Motor Corporation Australia (TMCA)
and Nickel West will also collaborate on EV supply on the back of a successful EV trial inDecember 2020.
In the MoU, the parties have agreed to seek to identify ways to make the Japanese battery
supply chain more sustainable by lowering carbon emissions in battery value chains. Theparties also intend to identify ways to implement standards for end-to-end raw materials
traceability, ethical sourcing and human rights reporting.
The parties will also explore the possibility of recycling battery scrap and used batteries at
BHP’s Nickel West for further processing and production of nickel bearing products.
BHP Chief Commercial Officer, Vandita Pant, said: “Creating a Green EV Ecosystem issomething that could make a real difference for the battery supply chain. Together withPPES and TTC, we are taking the next step in creating a more sustainable, transparent
industry and one that is working collectively to lift standards and reduce emissions. It starts
with the raw material and we are delighted to supply PPES with nickel sulphate in thispartnership where we will work together, with TTC, to create long term success andsustainability.”
PPES President and CEO, Hiroaki Koda, said: “I am delighted that we share the samevalues and have taken initiatives as “One Team” towards realizing a carbon-free green
society. We will work towards optimizing the overlapping value chains to be more competitive
and to continuously improve efficiency in our related operations. To make this happen, wewould like to introduce the Kaizen concept moving forward, and together with reducing thecarbon footprint in operations such as through electric mining vehicles. Our partnership isquite unique and advanced, as we could achieve both competitiveness and green businesswhile securing a win-win relationship.”
TTC Chief Operating Officer for Metals Division, Masaharu Katayama, said: “We aredelighted to have signed this MoU to establish a strong partnership among the parties tocope with the demand to realize Carbon Neutrality in due time. This partnership has great
potential to secure competitive raw materials for the EV value chains as well as to create

battery material recycling loops, which is crucial for EV development in the future. We lookforward to working together to achieve our mutual goals to deliver a greener planet for ourfuture generations.
BHP’s Nickel West Asset President, Jessica Farrell, said: “Demand for nickel in batteries isestimated to grow by over 500 per cent over the next decade to support increasing demandfor electric vehicles. We have invested in our Nickel West facilities and power agreements sothat we can now deliver some of the world’s most sustainable and lowest carbon emission
nickel to customers. We are excited to work with our partners to potentially increase the useof electric vehicles at our operations and further advance our sustainability agenda.”

Ends.

About BHP
BHP is a leading global resources company. We extract and process minerals, oil and gas,with approximately 80,000 employees and contractors, primarily in Australia and theAmericas. Our products are sold worldwide, with sales and marketing led through Singaporeand Houston, United States. Our global headquarters are in Melbourne, Australia.
More information on BHP’s approach to climate change is available at bhp.com.
About Prime Planet Energy & Solutions
Prime Planet Energy & Solutions started operations in April 2020 as a joint venture forautomotive prismatic batteries (owned 51% by Toyota Motor Corporation and 49% byPanasonic Corporation).
Details of Business: Development, manufacturing and sale of automotive prismatic lithiumion batteries.
Further information on PPES is available at https://www.p2enesol.com
About Toyota Tsusho Corporation (TTC)
Toyota Tsusho Corporation was founded in 1948 as the trading company for the Toyota
Group. Today, Toyota Tsusho, with approximately 64,000 group employees in 120 countries,
strives to contribute to the creation of prosperous societies. The company has seven
operating divisions (Metals/ Global Parts & Logistics/ Automotive/ Machinery, Energy &Project/ Chemicals & Electronics/ Food & Consumer Services/ Africa) focused threebusiness fields - the Mobility field contributing to the future convenient society, the Resources& Environment field ensuring the sustainable society, and the Life & Community field
supporting comfortable and healthy lifestyles.
Homepage: https://www.toyota-tsusho.com