Shredding spent lithium-ion batteries and e-waste into black mass, then leaching out lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and copper - an above-ground mine the ₹1,500 Cr recycling incentive pays for.
Listed recycler of lead, aluminium and plastics that started a 6,000-tonne-a-year lithium-ion battery recycling plant at Mundra (Jan 2026)
Note: Lithium-ion recycling at pilot stage (Mundra, Jan 2026)
Market cap, ratios, CAGR and revenue: company table snapshot as of 6 Nov 2026 (the same figures on every page). Price: snapshot as of 6 Nov 2026. Not investment advice.
Recyclers collect spent batteries (phones, laptops, EVs, storage) and e-waste, discharge and shred them, and use hydrometallurgy to recover battery-grade salts and metals that go back to cathode makers and smelters. Cell gigafactories and cathode makers, covered in the PLI-ACC battery policy, are the buyers.
Recycling can add supply years before a new mine. The Cabinet approved a ₹1,500 Cr Incentive Scheme for Critical Mineral Recycling on 3 Sep 2025 (guidelines 2 Oct 2025, runs FY26-FY31) under the Critical Mineral Mission. The Cabinet expects at least 270,000 tonnes a year of recycling capacity, about 40,000 tonnes a year of recovered critical minerals and about ₹8,000 Cr of investment. It pays a 20% capex subsidy on plant and machinery plus an opex subsidy on extra sales - but only for plants that actually extract minerals, not for those that stop at black mass. Applications closed on 1 Apr 2026; the Ministry of Mines approved 58 companies (20 on 30 Mar, 38 on 29 Apr 2026), pledging about ₹5,000 Cr of investment and ~850,000 tonnes a year of capacity.
Small but growing: India's spent-battery volumes are still mostly phones and laptops, with EV packs reaching end of life late this decade. Incentives are capped at ₹50 Cr per large company and ₹25 Cr per small one, so the scheme helps many mid-sized plants rather than one champion.