Honda Motor Co. has established a strategic partnership with Hanwa Co., a Japan-based trading company, to secure stable procurement of essential metals for batteries necessary for its electrified vehicles.

To realize carbon neutrality for all its products and corporate activities by 2050, Honda seeks to offer only battery-electric vehicles (EVs) and fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCVs) for global sales by 2040. The company plans to launch 30 EV models globally by 2030 with production volume of more than 2 million units annually.

Through the Hanwa partnership, Honda says it will ensure steady supply in the medium and long-term future of essential metals necessary for batteries such as nickel, cobalt and lithium.

Headquartered in Tokyo, Hanwa’s sales and import/export business deals with steel products, construction materials, non-ferrous metals, petroleum, chemicals, food, cement, and industrial machinery.