1. How can India shift the perception of recycling from waste management to material rethinking for long-term sustainability?
Circularity of critical metals and raw material security are two important pillars for a net-zero future. At its intersection is battery recycling, which has to be reframed as materials rethinking, not just waste handling. Every end-of-life electric battery contains lithium, and depending on its chemistry, the battery contains cobalt and nickel as well, making these strategic minerals for energy security. These same minerals are imported almost entirely, and refining them to industrial grade specifications, we are not managing waste or reusing; we are producing resources. The shift will firstly come from policy language. The recent scheme of incentivizing critical metal refining, approved by the cabinet, is exactly that.
Globally, the EU has mandated recycled content targets for batteries from 2027 (4% lithium, 12% cobalt), showing how policy can drive perception shifts. It depicts the subtle repositioning at the policy level, signalling recycling is about supply security. Other moves, such as consumer engagement in returning batteries and mandating recycled content in manufacturing, will normalise recycling as a value-generating act. Education, R&D, and overall industry narrative shift when producers highlight using “Made in India’ recycled metals will reinforce the idea.
2. What role could metastable materials play in making battery recycling more efficient and scalable in India?
Metastable Materials, along with our plan for distributed preprocessing centers and refining hubs, aim to accomplish recycling in a modular and scalable manner. This reduces dangerous goods transportation risks and lowers logistics costs, and ensures consistent feedstock for larger refining facilities. This approach makes recyclers act as localized engines of efficiency, helping India scale its recycling capacity safely. Other recycling industry leaders use a similar modular approach, proving its value in ensuring scale.
3. With EV adoption rising, how serious is the looming battery waste challenge for India, and how should policymakers respond?
If handled poorly, the challenge means loss of critical materials to either landfilling or, more likely, loss of critical materials from the domestic supply chain. By 2030, India could be staring at over a million tonnes of battery waste annually. However, if we’re unable to recycle and extract critical metals, we are faced with a strategic resource question. Enforcing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), quick policy rollouts, and formalising collection networks will turn the waste crisis into a materials opportunity.
4. How can science-led approaches like metastable materials contribute to solving climate challenges linked to battery production and recycling?
Science-led approaches allow us to reduce the climate footprint at every step of the battery supply chain. Every choice, how and where you preprocess, how you refine, impacts energy use, transport emissions, and recovery yield. Distributing pre-processing reduces long-haul transport of whole battery packs and moves homogenized black mass, which alone cuts fire mitigation costs and logistics emissions. Comparative studies confirm the climate logic: thermomechanical flows, low water, and low chemical routes can materially lower greenhouse gases compared with pyro and process choice truly matters. Recycling cobalt and nickel emits less than half the carbon dioxide when compared to primary mining, while copper recovery from scrap is over 85% less energy-intensive. While India builds its 50GWh advanced cell chemistry manufacturing, securing a domestic recycled supply is essential.
5. What steps are needed to build a full-stack battery recycling ecosystem in India, covering collection, separation, refining, and raw material manufacturing?
For a full-stack battery recycling ecosystem in India, four layers need to be strategized and implemented in parallel.
Firstly, a collection & incentives framework should be set up to make the battery chain a well-oiled machine with formal OEM takebacks, incentivising consumer surrender, and integrating informal collectors via certification.
Secondly, regional pre-processing in small footprint facilities for discharging, diagnosing, safely dismantling, and producing homogenized black mass reduces the transport risk and cost. High-capacity refining hubs with closed-loop chemistries to produce commodity metals as per industry requirements, e.g., making metals that are close to mined outcomes as we do, so they can re-enter supply chains.
Setting up a strong system of standards and traceability will go a long way, with digital manifests, battery passports, and partnership agreements for long-term supply, so recycled outputs have guaranteed demand and pricing stability.
Second life validation, to extend pack life, is another layer that can generate revenue, lower lifecycle emissions further, as recommended in reuse first frameworks.
6. Should EV buyers be incentivized for surrendering used batteries, and how could such a policy reshape the recycling market?
Consumer incentives are catalytic and will have ripples in our industry. A simple point of sale rebate or upgrade credit, or even a tax rebate, will immediately channel supply into formal hubs, raise collection rates, and discipline. Norway, China are some countries already offering consumer credits for battery return. Clear regulations with incentives can help achieve formalisation faster, direct end-of-life batteries into appropriate avenues for second life or recycling, and ensure higher throughput, which will bring down per-unit recycling costs.
