India bans battery black mass exports to boost domestic recycling

Industry leaders back domestic supply chain resilience

In September 2025, the Cabinet approved a separate ₹1,500 crore incentive scheme dedicated to critical mineral recycling.

Nitin Gupta, CEO and co-founder of Attero, said that exporting black mass for refining and then importing the processed material results in a loss of domestic value and exposes the country to supply disruptions and geopolitical risks.

Global battery recycling market to hit $59.22 billion by 2035

A separate report scope table lists the 2025 market value for battery materials recycling at $14.50 billion.

Another assessment valued the global lithium-ion battery recycling market at $3.54 billion in 2023 and projected a compound annual growth rate of 21.08 percent to reach $23.96 billion by 2033. DataM Intelligence identifies North America as the leading region in this market due to established recycling businesses and domestic battery manufacturing investments.

Veolia inaugurates new battery recycling facility in France

Veolia inaugurated a battery recycling facility in Malancourt-la-Montagne, near Amnéville in Moselle, France, on November 12, 2026.

The industrial process relies on hydrometallurgy, allowing the recovery of more than 90 percent of cobalt, nickel, and copper present in the black mass. Attendees at the inauguration included Veolia CEO Estelle Brachlianoff, European Commission Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné, and Grand Est region President Franck Leroy.

The group values the potential of recoverable metals on the European market at more than one billion euros.

Europe currently lacks industrial facilities capable of transforming recycled metals into active cathode material precursors, a necessary step to close the local battery production cycle. Asian operators purchase black mass on international markets, which creates competition for access to raw materials needed by European factories. Stéphane Séjourné discussed a possible ban on black mass exports to countries outside the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Non-automotive batteries emerge as dominant recycling segment

The non-automotive sector, including consumer electronics and energy storage systems, has emerged as the dominant segment in the lithium-ion battery recycling market. This growth is driven by the large volume of spent batteries from consumer electronics and the increasing use of lithium-ion batteries for renewable energy storage. Lithium-cobalt oxide is a prevalent chemistry in consumer electronics like smartphones, laptops, and tablets because of its compact size and high energy density.

Non-automotive batteries provide a consistent supply for recycling because they generally have shorter lifespans and faster replacement cycles than other battery types. Market growth is also fueled by the need to recover valuable materials like lithium, cobalt, and nickel.

Hydrometallurgy is the leading method for recycling these batteries as it effectively extracts and purifies valuable metals. This process recovers high-purity materials by dissolving metals in a liquid solution to allow for efficient separation and purification. Hydrometallurgical processing is identified as the primary technology for extracting metals from battery waste and black mass to meet specific purity requirements.

This method is considered an environmentally friendly and efficient approach that supports resource conservation and the transition to a circular economy. The recycling market categorizes processes into hydrometallurgy, pyrometallurgy, and direct recycling based on battery chemistries such as lithium-cobalt oxide, lithium-nickel manganese cobalt, lithium-iron phosphate, lithium-manganese oxide, and lithium-nickel cobalt aluminum oxide. Profitability in this sector depends on the battery chemistry, the price of recovered materials, operating costs, and the availability of consistent feedstock.

Market estimations and forecasts do not account for potential future economic downturns or major breakthroughs in recycling technology. The report uses the US$ as the base currency, with historical exchange rates sourced from the Oanda website for currency conversions.

Global industry milestones in battery circularity

Industry data gathered between January 2020 and October 2023 through interviews and databases such as Bloomberg and the IEA tracks these developments.

Europe's demand for battery recycling volumes is expected to more than triple between 2030 and 2035. The U.S. market for lithium-ion batteries is projected to grow by up to 10 times by 2030 due to demand for electric vehicles and stationary energy storage systems.

Gloyd Recycling Solutions commissioned its first U.S. Battery-In-Device Shredding system in the southeastern United States on August 14, 2026, to process batteries from consumer electronics and power tools.

R3 Lithium initiated commercial operations at its Covington, Georgia facility on September 10, 2026, to produce lithium carbonate from recycled battery materials. Aqua Metals also announced a five-year letter of intent on September 14, 2026, for the commercial sale of copper and aluminium recovered from its Project Headwaters facility.

Porsche announced a pilot milestone on September 17, 2026, where it produced cathode active material from recycled lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese for use in battery cell testing.

India's e-waste trade statistics

This figure represents a nearly 29 percent increase from the $430.32 million imported during the 2024-25 financial year.

Lithium imports into India rose from $35.71 million in 2024-25 to $46.91 million in 2025-26. India's e-waste exports reached $9.57 million in 2025-26, nearly doubling from the $4.84 million recorded in 2024-25.