⚡ EV Growth vs. Battery Waste
India’s electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem is scaling at a record pace. From budget-friendly e-rickshaws to high-end electric SUVs and intercity buses, the electric shift is visible across segments. Fueled by policy support such as the FAME-II subsidy, state-level EV mandates, and consumer awareness, India is projected to become the world’s 3rd largest EV market by 2030.
But as the EV boom accelerates, a silent waste crisis is building. What happens to the batteries when they die?
Lithium-ion batteries, which power the majority of EVs, have a life of about 6 to 8 years. That means batteries sold during India’s early EV years (FY18–FY20) are now reaching end-of-life, and millions more will follow each year. Unlike other components, these batteries can’t just be dumped. They contain toxic and flammable substances as well as strategic metals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel. Without proper recycling, they can contaminate soil and water, cause fires, and endanger waste workers.
But here’s the opportunity: if recycled properly, these batteries become a domestic source of critical minerals, reducing import dependence and supporting local manufacturing.
That’s where India’s battery recycling ecosystem is stepping in. A new wave of startups and industrial players is transforming battery waste from an environmental liability into a strategic economic asset. Using hydrometallurgy, AI-based diagnostics, and second-life systems, these players are building a closed-loop solution that supports EV growth, energy security, and circularity.
This marks a pivotal shift: battery recycling is no longer a backend activity; it’s becoming the backbone of India’s clean-tech future.
🧳 Policy Push: Battery Waste Management Gets Serious
India’s battery recycling story took a major turn in August 2022, when the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) introduced the Battery Waste Management Rules.
For the first time, India implemented Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for battery producers, making them legally accountable for collection, recycling, and end-of-life treatment.
🔑 Key Provisions of the Rules:
- 🔁 70% material recovery from spent lithium-ion batteries
- 🏭 Manufacturer-led collection systems: OEMs must collect and route old batteries to certified recyclers
- 📲 Digital traceability: Battery lifecycle data must be uploaded to a centralized online portal
- 🚫 Ban on landfilling & incineration of EV batteries
To further accelerate the ecosystem, the government has aligned these rules with economic incentives:
💸 FY25 Policy Boosts:
- ₹155 Cr allocated under the PLI scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cells (ACC) to support recycling-linked manufacturing
- Customs duty exemptions on imported battery scrap to promote industrial-scale recycling
- ₹410 Cr under the National Critical Minerals Mission to fund lithium, cobalt, and nickel recovery projects
🔍 These moves turn battery recycling from a CSR-like activity into a full-fledged compliance + business model
Meanwhile, startups like Recykal are digitizing EPR compliance, recyclers like Attero and Lohum are scaling chemical recovery capacity, and second-life battery startups like Ziptrax are helping delay the recycling step by offering reuse-based models.
India is no longer just reacting to battery waste; it’s planning a structured, regulated, and digitally trackable battery economy.
💰 Market Opportunity: A ₹35,000 Cr Circular Economy
The economic opportunity in India’s battery recycling sector is immense and rapidly approaching.
By 2030, over 600 GWh of lithium-ion batteries are expected to retire from EVs and electronics. These batteries will contain thousands of tonnes of valuable metals: lithium, cobalt, manganese, graphite, and nickel.
- 💎 These batteries could yield materials worth ₹35,000 Cr
- 🔋 Enough lithium to power 6 crore new electric scooters
- 🌍 Massive export potential to Europe, which mandates recycled input in new batteries
- 👨🏭 Creation of 50,000+ skilled green jobs across collection, logistics, plant operations, and compliance
🔄 The Second-Life Opportunity:
Most EV batteries don’t immediately become waste. Even after EV usage ends, they often retain 70–80% usable capacity. These batteries can be repurposed into:
- Solar energy storage (rural areas, microgrids)
- Telecom tower backup systems
- Home inverters and urban ESS (energy storage systems)
Startups like Lohum and Ziptrax are pioneering these second-life models, extending battery life by 3–5 years and improving return on material.
🔬 What makes India uniquely positioned?
- 🔧 Frugal engineering: Modular, low-cost recycling systems
- 💻 Digital innovation: Traceability & compliance via startups like Recykal
- 🌱 Circular culture: EV + solar + recycling = integrated ecosystems
The outcome? India is building an indigenous, tech-first model of circularity that’s scalable, sustainable, and export-ready.
🏢 India’s Circular Economy Champions
8 Startups Building the Battery Recycling Backbone
🔄 Attero Recycling
📍 HQ: Noida, Uttar Pradesh
📊 FY24 Revenue: ₹446.24Cr
🔧 Core Model: Attero uses a proprietary hydrometallurgical process to extract lithium, cobalt, and nickel with up to 98% recovery. It also handles EPR compliance for top electronics and EV brands.
📌 FY25 Activity: Announced an over ₹8000 Cr capex plan to expand its battery recycling footprint across India, the U.S., and Europe. Plans include AI-led battery waste tracking systems.
🧩 Strengths: Among India’s only end-to-end urban miners with global tech patents, massive processing scale, and certified operations. Attero is a policy-aligned industrial leader in circularity.
🤝 Known Investors: IFC, Kalaari Capital, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Granite Hill Capital Partners
♻️ Lohum Cleantech
📍 HQ: Noida, Uttar Pradesh
📊 FY24 Revenue: ₹439.33Cr
🔧 Core Model: Lohum operates a closed-loop model recycling batteries and repurposing healthy cells into stationary energy storage systems. It manages collection, sorting, and processing in-house.
📌 FY25 Activity: Signed a $30M JV for a U.S. battery recycling plant and expanded B2B energy storage operations; deepened OEM ties with Ola Electric and MG.
🧩 Strengths: Combines material recovery and second-life deployment, creating a high-margin dual revenue stream. Technologically advanced and OEM-integrated.
🤝 Known Investors: Peak XV Partners (Sequoia India), Baring PE, C4V
⚙️ Gravita India
📍 HQ: Jaipur, Rajasthan
📊 FY24 Revenue: ₹3,238.56Cr
🔧 Core Model: Initially a lead recycler, Gravita is diversifying into lithium-ion recovery with a focus on integrated processing for multiple battery chemistries (LIBs + lead-acid).
📌 FY25 Activity: Filed fresh charges to finance its lithium-ion vertical and ramped up plant-level infrastructure for clean-tech recycling. Also, expanding global export capacity.
🧩 Strengths: Publicly listed, well-capitalized, with pan-India and international logistics and manufacturing scale. Brings industrial maturity to a startup-driven space.
🤝 Known Investors: Public company with institutional shareholders
🚌 GreenCell Mobility
📍 HQ: Mumbai, Maharashtra
📊 FY24 Revenue: ₹513.81Cr
🔧 Core Model: While primarily an EV fleet operator, GreenCell is integrating circularity into its platform through real-time battery health tracking, predictive maintenance, and safe end-of-life handling.
📌 FY25 Activity: Rolled out pilot systems for AI- and IoT-based battery monitoring. Exploring tie-ups for recycling and swapping to reduce lifecycle emissions of fleet batteries.
🧩 Strengths: India’s first fleet-led battery circularity model. Strong government and private sector traction, with tech-enabled lifecycle visibility.
🤝 Known Investors: Eversource Capital & Homage Ventures
🌍 TES-AMM India
📍 HQ: Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu
📊 FY24 Revenue: ₹291.95Cr
🔧 Core Model: Focuses on dismantling, safe storage, and pre-processing of LIBs, with most recovered components exported for high-grade refinement. Operates under global certification norms.
📌 FY25 Activity: Expanding capacity to handle LIB waste from electronics, telecom, and EVs; scaling plant safety protocols and export compliance under Basel Convention rules.
🧩 Strengths: ISO/R2/OHSAS certified. Trusted by multinational OEMs for global-compliance-ready recycling. Combines international best practices with local execution.
🤝Known Investors: BAS Holdings Private Limited
🧪 Metastable Materials
📍 HQ: Bengaluru, Karnataka
📊 FY24 Revenue: ₹1.31Cr
🔧 Core Model: Uses a proprietary green chemistry process to recover lithium and cobalt without producing effluent waste. Modular, decentralized units make it scalable in Tier 2/3 India.
📌 FY25 Activity: Operated pilot plant; signed academic and industrial collaborations for material validation and field trials. Planning rollout of mini-recycling modules.
🧩 Strengths: Zero-effluent, environmentally safe process. Low water, low energy, and tailored for deployment in dense urban or semi-urban waste clusters.
🤝 Known Investors: Surge, Speciale Invest, Theia Ventures
🧾 Recykal
📍 HQ: Hyderabad, Telangana
📊 FY24 Revenue: ₹718.24Cr
🔧 Core Model: Offers a full-stack digital compliance platform enabling battery producers, importers, and recyclers to track, tokenize, and report EPR obligations in real time.
📌 FY25 Activity: Added major battery OEMs to its traceability stack. Integrated dashboard-based EPR reporting, real-time audit logs, and recycler onboarding protocols.
🧩 Strengths: Acts as the digital spine of India’s circular economy. Boosts compliance and transparency, without owning physical waste infrastructure.
🤝 Investors: Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, 360 ONE, Circulate Capital & Triton Investment Advisors
🔋 Ziptrax Cleantech
📍 HQ: New Delhi
📊 FY24 Revenue: ₹0.13Cr
🔧 Core Model: Specializes in repurposing used EV batteries for second-life energy storage through AI-driven SoH diagnostics, performance mapping, and modular energy systems.
📌 FY25 Activity: Deployed second-life ESS in Tier 2/3 markets. Expanded its proprietary AI software to automate the grading of incoming battery packs.
🧩 Strengths: Enables circularity without full recycling, perfect for low-intensity storage needs. Cost-efficient, scalable, and climate-resilient.
🤝 Investors: Shell E4 Startup Hub
🧩 Emerging Business Models in Battery Circularity
As India’s battery waste challenge grows, startups and legacy players are evolving five distinct business models. Each tackles a different part of the battery lifecycle — from recovery to reuse to digital compliance.
📋 Comparative Overview
| Model Type | What It Does | Startups / Companies Using It |
| Hydrometallurgy | Chemical leaching of critical metals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel | Attero, Lohum, Gravita India |
| Direct Recycling | Recovers functional components (like cathodes) without full breakdown | Metastable Materials |
| Second-Life Repurposing | Reuses used batteries in ESS, telecom, or solar after health checks | Ziptrax, Lohum |
| EPR-as-a-Service | Digital platforms for compliance, traceability, and waste tokens | Recykal |
| Circular Infra-as-a-Service | Integrates lifecycle tracking, predictive battery maintenance | GreenCell Mobility |
| Hybrid Export-Prep Model | Pre-processes LIBs for certified global refining, not full domestic recovery | TES-AMM India |
🔄 Each model addresses a different pain point in the battery lifecycle:
- Hydrometallurgy (Attero, Lohum, Gravita):
Best suited for fully depleted batteries. Offers high material recovery (90–95%) of lithium, cobalt, and nickel. Capital-intensive but highly scalable, making it ideal for industrial-scale operations. - Direct Recycling (Metastable Materials):
A low-waste, sustainable alternative that preserves battery components without full breakdown. Environmentally friendly, modular, and ideal for decentralized deployments, though still in early-stage commercialization. - Second-Life Repurposing (Ziptrax, Lohum):
Gives used EV batteries a second life in stationary energy storage (solar grids, telecom towers). Helps delay final recycling while aligning with India’s growing need for affordable energy storage. - EPR-as-a-Service (Recykal):
Digital-first solution for producers and recyclers. Manages compliance, traceability, and reporting via cloud platforms. Essential, as the Battery Waste Management Rules require EPR tracking. - Circular Infra-as-a-Service (GreenCell Mobility):
Integrates battery lifecycle into fleet operations, from health tracking to swapping to end-of-life routing. Helps fleets build in circularity from day one, especially for buses and commercial EVs. - Hybrid Export-Prep Model (TES-AMM India):
Focuses on safe dismantling, certification, and export of battery waste for final refinement abroad. Ideal for MNCs requiring global compliance and secure material handling, with a focus on ESG assurance rather than domestic refining.
India’s edge? Building modular, tech-first, and frugal innovation-based approaches that leapfrog legacy infrastructure.
🌍 Global Trends & India’s Catch-Up Game
Battery recycling is a global race, and India is speeding up but still trailing leaders like the EU and China.
Europe’s Advantage:
- EU Battery Regulation 2023 mandates 65% LIB recycling by 2025.
- 🧾 Requires battery passports: digital lifecycle records with material origin, usage, and recycling history.
- 🔁 Enforces recycled material quotas for new battery production, driving demand for circular inputs.
China’s Lead:
- China implements QR-based real-time battery tracking through centralized databases.
- 🏭 Operates LIB recycling hubs capable of 50,000+ tonnes annually.
- 🔗 Vertically integrates recycling into its global battery dominance from mining to reuse.
India’s Current Status:
- ✅ Introduced Battery Waste Management Rules (2022) EPR-led compliance framework.
- 📉 However, recycling infra still subscale (most under 5,000 tonnes/year).
- 💻 Digital compliance (e.g., Recykal) and policy support are positive signs, but execution varies state to state.
Leapfrogging Opportunity:
India can build its version of “BatteryStack”, akin to IndiaStack:
- Unified digital registry of batteries
- EPR credit marketplaces
- Real-time recycling audit trails
- Interoperable traceability across state regulators, recyclers, and OEMs
⚠️ Challenges & Road Ahead
India’s battery recycling push is promising but faces 7 major roadblocks:
- 🛻 Collection Gaps
– Limited infrastructure to retrieve used batteries from consumers
– Many batteries remain in households or are scrapped informally - 🔧 Informal Sector Dominance
– Unsafe, unregulated dismantling practices dominate e-waste streams
– Loss of recoverable value and environmental risks - 🏗️ Capital-Intensive Tech
– Hydrometallurgy requires crores in investment and years to scale
– Smaller startups struggle to fund R&D and set up - 🧩 Battery Pack Fragmentation
– EVs in India use varied chemistries and designs
– Standardization can streamline disassembly and recovery - 📉 Traceability Weakness
– Many battery producers lack digital tracking
– Without clear audit trails, recyclers face inconsistent supply - 📢 Low Consumer Awareness
– Most users don’t know where/how to dispose of used batteries
– Return incentives and education are missing - 🏛️ Policy Execution Lag
– Rules exist, but state-level execution is inconsistent
– Licensing, clearances, and EPR monitoring are still fragmented
🔮 Road Ahead: What Needs to Happen
| Strategic Focus | Recommended Action |
| Take-back Infrastructure | Mandate battery return at dealerships, retailers, and service centers |
| Informal Sector Integration | Upskill, license, and incentivize informal collectors and dismantlers |
| Financial Access | Launch green bonds, credit guarantees, and blended finance for early-stage recyclers |
| Battery Design Standards | Mandate ISI/BIS standardization for battery packs and cells |
| Nationwide Traceability | Build a centralized “BatteryStack” infrastructure with APIs for compliance tracking |
| Awareness Campaigns | Run FAME-like awareness for battery disposal in schools, ads, and civic spaces |
🌱 Conclusion: India’s Circular Future
India’s transition to electric mobility is inevitable, but whether it will be sustainable hinges on how we handle battery end-of-life. With millions of EVs hitting the road, battery waste is no longer a distant concern; it’s a looming challenge that demands urgent solutions. Thankfully, a dynamic ecosystem is taking shape, one that doesn’t just recycle, but regenerates.
Startups like Attero and Lohum are pioneering scalable, tech-driven models that recover critical minerals like lithium and cobalt with high efficiency. Innovators such as Ziptrax are extending battery lifecycles through smart second-life applications, while Recykal is enabling digital traceability for EPR compliance, a backbone for regulatory enforcement.
Legacy industrial players like Gravita are entering lithium-ion recycling, bringing scale and credibility to the space. Meanwhile, new entrants like Metastable are rewriting the rules with green chemistry and zero-effluent processes. If supported by policy continuity, green capital, and tighter collection frameworks, India can leapfrog traditional linear supply chains.
What’s emerging is not just a recycling industry, but a circular economy engine. One that reclaims value from waste, localizes supply chains, and creates tens of thousands of green jobs. With digital infrastructure, modular recycling units, and inclusive value chains, India can set a new global benchmark.
The EV future is not just electric; it must be regenerative, responsible, and circular by design.
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