‘Policy intervention can help unlock $3.5-bn li-ion battery recycling, production in India’

new delhi: Policy interventions can enable unlocking of USD 3.5 billion lithium ion recycling and production ecosystem in the country by 2030, a report by industry body India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) and Accenture said on Wednesday.

The report estimates that without any policy intervention and measures to facilitate investments, the present lithium battery (LiB) recycling expansion plans have the potential to generate revenue in the range of USD 500-1,000 million between 2025 and 2030.

The report has suggested measures to enhance cell manufacturing capacity, increase domestic recycling capacity through schemes like PLI, facilitate the trade of LiB scrap and black mass and improve reverse logistics and collection of domestic scrap.

“The proposed interventions will improve the domestic LiB ecosystem and unlock a total economic value of USD 3.5 billion, create 27,000 to 41,000 jobs, reduce emissions by 28 to 75 kT CO2e (kilotonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent), and enable water savings of approximately 5,700 million gallons by 2030,” the report said.

Nearly 39 per cent of consumer electronics batteries that have reached their end of life (EoL) do not get collected, it said. 

“Among the batteries that do enter collection streams, the majority (around 80 per cent) as of today are handled by unregulated informal channels. As a result, 45 per cent of collected batteries fail to reach formal mechanical recyclers. Additionally, around 2-8 per cent of the EoL batteries reaching formal recyclers, fail quality checks due to improper handling by informal collectors,” the report said.

ICEA Chairman Pankaj Mohindroo said sustainability is “one of the most promising economic opportunities of our time”. “Battery recycling sits at the intersection of India’s environmental priorities and its strategic autonomy in critical minerals. With the right policy support and entrepreneurial drive, India can unlock a USD 3.5 billion circular battery economy, reduce import dependencies, and establish itself as a global powerhouse in clean technologies,” he said.

Mohindroo also announced the launch of Centre of Sustainability for Pure Earth.

Sandip Chatterjee -- global recycling expert and senior advisor at SERI, a non-profit body -- said iPhone uses about 69 elements and companies in India don’t have the necessary technology to recycle several critical elements that can be used in the high-end phone.

He demanded that India impose restrictions on the export of black mass -- the state of battery after end of its life cycle. China has banned the export of black mass, he said.

According to the report, due to limited domestic hydrometallurgical recycling capacity, India has no restrictions on black mass export.

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) Scientist-F & Division Head, WM-I, V P Yadav, said India lacks the technology to extract elements from batteries that can be put to use in the industry.

“Unless recycled material becomes cheaper than raw materials, no one will use it. Manufacturers will make product using cheaper materials,” he said.

Yadav said he received feedback from a lithium ion battery maker that the quality of recycled material in the country is not of the quality that can be used for manufacturing products.