India’s ambition with regard to electric mobility, energy storage, and advanced manufacturing is at an all-time high. Many gigafactory announcements have already made it to the news. You can see that there is an increase in the number of vehicles sold by the country. In addition to that, the country leaders are now engaging in conversations about the brave new world of batteries. A battery cell can only be manufactured if the underlying critical minerals are available. Minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and graphite are becoming strategic resources for the battery industry. Access to these materials will increasingly determine which countries lead the next phase of industrial growth.
Over the last two years, we have seen governments across the world compete for mineral assets, sign bilateral agreements and redesign supply chains to reduce dependence on a handful of producing nations. India has been pursuing the same objective through overseas partnerships and investments in resource-rich geographies. Recent engagements with countries such as Zambia reflect the urgency with which the country is approaching the issue.
These efforts are necessary. But they are not sufficient.
The conversation around critical minerals in India remains heavily centred on mining. New discoveries generate headlines. Overseas acquisitions generate optimism. Yet both require time. Exploration takes years. Mine development takes even longer. Processing infrastructure must then be built before the material can enter manufacturing supply chains.
India cannot afford to wait for every solution to emerge from the ground. It needs a second source of critical minerals: one that is domestic, scalable and available much sooner.
That source already exists.
End-of-life lithium-ion batteries still contain materials that retain significant economic value, and if not brought back to use, these materials will remain in landfills and dumping grounds instead of being recovered. The critical minerals inside an EV battery do not disappear after the battery stops powering a vehicle. Laptops, smartphones, power tools, UPS systems, and grid-storage batteries also rely on critical materials, so the recovery opportunity, and the leakage risk if that recovery does not happen, applies just as much to consumer electronics and industrial applications as it does to the automotive sector. These materials remain available for recovery, refinement and reintroduction into the manufacturing cycle.
This is why battery recycling deserves to be viewed differently.
The shift is already visible in government policy. Under the National Critical Mineral Mission, India has allocated ₹1,500 crore towards promoting critical mineral recycling. The objective is clear: reduce import dependence by building domestic recovery capabilities from lithium-ion batteries, e-waste and other secondary resources. The programme is expected to support at least 270 kilotonnes of annual recycling capacity and generate around 40 kilotonnes of critical mineral production annually by 2030-31.
What is particularly encouraging is the market response.
When the Ministry of Mines completed eligibility assessments earlier this year, 58 companies qualified under the scheme with proposed investments of nearly ₹5,000 crore and a pledged recycling capacity of approximately 850 kilotonnes per annum.
This tells us that industry is beginning to recognise that critical mineral recycling is not a peripheral opportunity. It is emerging as a strategic industry in its own right.
The next question is whether recycling can materially contribute to India’s self-reliance ambitions.
My view is that it can, and perhaps to a much greater extent than many currently assume. The National Critical Mineral Mission estimates that recycling alone could account for nearly 10% of India’s annual critical mineral consumption by 2031.
It may not sound transformative at first glance. In reality, it is substantial. No country builds resource security through a single source. The future will depend on a combination of domestic mining, international partnerships, strategic reserves and recycled materials.
The most significant challenge to the industry at the present time is the access to the feedstock. It is impossible for the recycling industry of India to be successful if batteries at the end of their life continue to seep into the informal sector or escape the organisation of collection systems. To create a circular economy, it is necessary to achieve a certain level of awareness before the material is sent to recycling. This means that there should be transparency, an efficient collection system, a reverse logistics network and a proper involvement of all of the participants.
Technology will also matter.
The discussion should move beyond simply collecting battery waste. The real value lies in extracting battery-grade materials that can re-enter manufacturing supply chains at scale. Countries that master recovery and refining technologies will capture significantly more value than those focused only on collection and dismantling.
This is where India has an opportunity.
The country is entering the critical minerals race later than some global peers, but it is doing so at a moment when the rules are still being written. Unlike traditional mining economies, India can build an ecosystem that integrates manufacturing, recycling, resource recovery and circularity from the outset. The objective should not be complete independence. No major economy is entirely self-sufficient in critical minerals.
The objective should be resilience.
By 2030, the most successful countries will not necessarily be those with the largest mineral reserves. They will be those that have built the most secure, diversified and circular supply chains.
Mining will remain important. Overseas acquisitions will remain important. But if India is serious about critical mineral security, battery recycling can no longer be viewed as the last step in the value chain. It needs to be recognised as one of the first.
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