Batteries
Lithium-ion battery recycling plant
Spent EV and electronics batteries discharged, shredded and separated into black mass, copper, aluminium and steel.
India's first large wave of electric-vehicle batteries reaches end of life from about FY2027, and the country mines none of the lithium, nickel or cobalt in them. A mechanical plant discharges and dismantles packs, shreds the cells under inert gas, dries off the electrolyte and separates the metals from black mass, the cathode and anode powder that carries almost all the value. Black mass goes to hydrometallurgical refiners; a hydromet stage is the plant's natural second phase.
- Feed
- End-of-life two- and three-wheeler and car packs, consumer-electronics cells, and manufacturing scrap from cell and pack plants; chemistry decides the value.
- Capacity modelled
- 1,000 to 6,000 tonnes of batteries a year; the reference plant is 3,000 TPA with a hydromet variant.
Products and buyers
Black mass
Hydrometallurgical refiners, for nickel, cobalt, manganese and lithium salts
Copper and aluminium fractions
Secondary smelters and rod mills
Steel and plastics
Melting scrap; registered plastic recyclers
Battery recyclers must recover 90% of battery material from FY2027, and new EV batteries must contain 5% recycled material from FY2028, rising to 20% from FY2031. Source: Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022
02Process
How the plant works.
- 01Receiving and sorting by chemistry
- 02Discharging
- 03Dismantling
- 04Inert-gas shredding
- 05Drying and electrolyte recovery
- 06Screening and separation
- 07Black mass bagging
- OUTBlack mass
- OUTCopper and aluminium fractions
- OUTSteel and plastics
03Rules
What shapes the plant.
- Rajasthan's list names battery recycling only with hydrometallurgy (Orange) or with pyrometallurgy (Red); a shredding line is planned as Red until the board confirms.
- Registration as a recycler under the Battery Waste Management Rules; collection and OEM tie-ups need documentation.
- Black-mass exports need MoEF&CC permission and a DGFT licence, so plan to sell in India.
04Viability
What decides whether it pays.
- 01Feed: announced capacity in India is far ahead of collected scrap, so the collection network is the plant.
- 02Chemistry mix: nickel- and cobalt-bearing black mass is worth many times LFP black mass.
- 03Payable percentages agreed with refiners for the contained metals.
- 04Safety systems: discharging, inert gas and fire protection are the largest non-process costs.
05The report
What the lithium-ion battery recycling report covers.
A model-plant report exists for this plant type. A site-specific version replaces its assumptions with your feed, prices, quotes and location, and is written to be taken to a lender.
- Plastic & Rubber Recycling Solutions
- Equipment Selection & Advisory
- Greenfield / Brownfield Project Execution
- Wastewater Management Towards Zero Discharge
- Executive summaryThe plant at a glance: capacity, products, project cost, returns and the decision it supports.
- Market and regulationFeed availability, buyers and prices, the rules that create or restrict demand.
- Site, capacity and productsLocation logic, plant size, product mix and specifications buyers will accept.
- Process and technologyThe route chosen and why, with a process flow and material balance.
- Machinery and utilitiesEquipment list with ratings and quantities, power, water, fuel and manpower.
- Environment and approvalsPollution-board category, emissions and effluent controls, licences and EPR registration.
- Capital and operating costBuilt bottom-up: land, civil, machinery, electricals, pollution control, pre-operative costs.
- Financials and sensitivityFive-year P&L, project financing, debt service, payback, and what moves the result.
- Risks and open questionsWhat must be confirmed with quotes, buyers and the regulator before money is committed.
Related plants
Other batteries plants
Planning a lithium-ion battery recycling plant?
A short message is enough to start: the waste stream, the location, the scale you are thinking of, and where you are in the decision. We reply within one business day.