Critical ban: On recycling of lithium-ion batteries

On November 10, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade banned the export of lithium-ion battery black mass by moving it from the “free” to the “prohibited” list of exports. Black mass is an intermediate product when spent batteries and factory scrap are shredded. It contains valuable lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite.

The Commerce Ministry says the ban will ensure feedstock for domestic refiners, lift their capacity utilisation and draw investment. While the recycling of lead-acid batteries end-to-end is an established ecosystem and formalised, too, lithium-ion battery recycling is an emerging segment with only a few dozen licensed operators but has much potential given the scale of use of such batteries in EVs. While the ban will redirect supply, it will not automatically create a market and ecosystem.

Just banning export without creating an entire ecosystem will only lead to dumping of lithium-ion batteries into landfills if the blackmass has no market.