Can India transform its battery waste?

India must prioritise govt support with stringent enforcement of extended producer responsibility frameworks and PLI schemes for recycling

- SHRIRAM SUBRAMANIAN

INDIA'S DECISION TO classify black mass as hazardous waste and restrict its export marks a pivotal step in its critical minerals' strategy. Black mass, the fine black powder obtained from recycling lithium-ion batteries, is rich in high-value materials such as lithium, cobalt, graphite, and nickel. These metals are indispensable for manufacturing batteries used in electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy storage systems. By localising the recovery of these critical minerals, India aims to reduce import dependency and move toward self-reliance in battery raw materials. However, this shift raises a crucial question: Is India ready to process its own black mass efficiently and safely?

India's battery waste management ecosystem remains underdeveloped compared to countries like South Korea and China, which have invested heavily in advanced recycling infrastructure. With India's lithium-ion battery market projected to reach 132 gigawatt hours by 2030, the volume of discarded batteries is set to surge. Yet, the infrastructure required to safely and efficiently recycle them, particularly to extract materials from black mass, is still in its infancy. While only a handful of Indian recyclers have developed the technological capability to process black mass and recover valuable materials, they work at limited capacity. These early players face challenges in scaling up due to high capital costs and limited policy support. In contrast, most players in the ecosystem still rely on rudimentary methods resulting in less efficient recovery of critical minerals. Limited collection mechanisms and the absence of standardised protocols for battery waste segregation further hamper recovery.