Electric Vehicle (EV) Battery Recycling and Material Recovery Market Size & Share 2026-2035

Electric Vehicle (EV) Battery Recycling and Material Recovery Market Size

The electric vehicle (EV) battery recycling and material recovery market was valued at USD 3.5 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 46.1 billion by 2035, expanding at a 30.5% CAGR from 2026 to 2035.

The forecast step-up begins with USD 4.19 billion in 2026, when recycling revenue remains weighted toward manufacturing scrap and pre-processing, before larger volumes of retired vehicle batteries enter formal collection systems.

The addressable feedstock base is expanding faster than mature recycling infrastructure. The global electric-car fleet reached almost 58 million vehicles at the end of 2024, compared with 40 million at the end of 2023; electric-car sales were expected to exceed 20 million units in 2025.^{[1]International Energy Agency. iea.org} Battery retirements will initially be uneven across markets because vehicle age, battery warranty practices, second-life use, and collection rules differ. Even so, the IEA and European Patent Office estimate that approximately 1.2 million EV batteries could reach end of life in 2030, rising to 14 million in 2040.

Material recovery has become a supply-chain function rather than solely a waste-management service. In climate-target scenarios, effective battery recycling could reduce lithium and nickel demand by 25% and cobalt demand by 40% in 2050. The commercial value of that outcome depends on a recycler's ability to convert heterogeneous packs into battery-grade outputs, rather than merely producing black mass for sale into a constrained downstream refining market.

Asia Pacific generated USD 2,367.5 million in 2025, led by China at USD 1,886.3 million. Europe generated USD 658.0 million, including USD 239.1 million in Germany, and is expected to record the fastest regional CAGR at approximately 32.9% through 2035. North America accounted for USD 385.6 million, with the United States contributing USD 320.8 million. Latin America and the Middle East and Africa remained comparatively small at USD 55.4 million and USD 41.9 million, respectively, but their development paths are increasingly tied to mineral processing, local vehicle production, and formal collection systems.

The longer-term transition is more consequential. Regulation is turning recovery into a condition of market access in Europe, while critical-mineral policy is encouraging domestic processing capacity in North America and Asia. Operators that secure batteries through OEM, cell-maker, fleet, or collection-network relationships and can refine recovered material into a qualified battery input are positioned to capture a larger share of value than stand-alone black-mass producers.

Key market developments include the approaching end-of-life battery wave, the shift from thermal recovery toward selective hydrometallurgical and direct-recycling routes, the formalization of closed-loop supply relationships, and policy support for domestic critical-mineral recovery. Recycling process, chemistry, recovered material, battery source, and regional regulatory conditions determine both realized recovery value and capital requirements.

Key Drivers

Accelerating EV Adoption & Imminent End-of-Life Battery Wave

The rising vehicle fleet creates the physical basis for future recycling throughput. Battery retirement does not track new EV sales in a straight line because packs can be repaired, reused, or repurposed before recycling. However, the expanding installed base means that a larger share of batteries will eventually require certified treatment, especially in early-adopter markets where vehicles sold in the mid-2010s are now approaching replacement cycles. The projected increase from approximately 1.2 million end-of-life EV batteries in 2030 to 14 million in 2040 indicates why recycling plants are being designed around future rather than current retirement volumes.

This feedstock ramp alters technology requirements. Early returns are likely to contain a mixture of NMC, NCA, LFP, and legacy chemistries, so operators must manage variable metal values and safety characteristics. Collection networks, diagnostic capability, and discharge capacity will therefore be as material to utilization rates as the refining circuit itself.

Critical Mineral Supply Security Imperatives & Domestic Content Mandates

Battery recycling provides a secondary source of lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, and copper at a time when primary supply remains geographically concentrated. The European Commission identified concentration risks in cobalt supply chains, noting that 63% of global cobalt used in batteries was extracted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and 60% was refined in China.^{[2]EUR-Lex. eur-lex.europa.eu} Recycling cannot eliminate primary-material dependence in the near term, but it can reduce exposure to import disruption as battery inventories mature.

Policy has translated this strategic objective into capital support. The U.S. Department of Energy's battery materials processing and manufacturing programs provide USD 6 billion in combined support under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.^{[3]U.S. Department of Energy. energy.gov} In the European Union, the Critical Raw Materials Act establishes a 2030 benchmark for 25% of annual strategic raw-material consumption to come from recycling and limits dependence on any single third country to 65% for a strategic material. These measures reward projects that can establish traceable, domestic secondary-material supply rather than export unprocessed black mass.

Stringent Regulatory Mandates (EU Battery Regulation, IRA Critical Mineral Credits)

Regulatory compliance is changing the economics of battery collection and recovery. Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 creates extended producer responsibility obligations and establishes material-specific recovery and recycled-content requirements for batteries placed on the EU market. The regulation requires minimum recycled content from August 2031 of 16% for cobalt, 85% for lead, and 6% each for lithium and nickel; it also establishes recovery targets of 95% for cobalt, copper, and nickel and 80% for lithium by the end of 2031.

These obligations favor processes capable of demonstrating material traceability and recovery performance. They also create a commercial distinction between a recycler that produces a verified, battery-grade output and one that transfers intermediate material to another party. In the United States, investment tax credits and domestic manufacturing provisions under Sections 48C and 45X complement federal battery-materials funding, improving the financing case for domestic recycling and refining assets.

Closed-Loop Battery Supply Chain Commitments by Automotive OEMs

Closed-loop arrangements are becoming a practical response to feedstock uncertainty and recycled-content compliance. The Huayou Cobalt and LG Energy Solution agreement illustrates the model: the parties established pre-processing in Nanjing and metallurgical regeneration in Quzhou to recycle scrap from LG Energy Solution's Chinese operations into materials for battery production. Such arrangements reduce transport and quality-control friction while providing recyclers with more predictable input volumes.

The value of these agreements extends beyond volumes. When recyclers receive chemistry-specific material under defined specifications, they can design hydrometallurgical circuits around narrower operating windows and improve output consistency. For cell makers and OEMs, contracted recovery supports traceability, material-security objectives, and compliance with recycled-content requirements. The result is a gradual shift from opportunistic spot procurement toward structured material loops.

Key Restraints

High Pre-Processing & Logistics Costs Suppressing Recycling Economics

Battery recycling begins with a safety and logistics problem before it becomes a metallurgical one. Packs differ by cell format, thermal-management architecture, state of health, and damage condition. Discharging, isolating, dismantling, and transporting these packs requires trained handling, specialized packaging, and controlled storage. These steps are particularly burdensome where collection volumes are dispersed or where a facility lacks automated systems for common pack configurations.

Damaged, defective, and recalled lithium-ion batteries impose a higher operating burden. U.S. EPA guidance states that damaged, defective, or recalled batteries may not be transported by air and must meet specific U.S. Department of Transportation packaging requirements; breached cells can trigger hazardous-waste management requirements before recycling. These constraints create an advantage for operators with established reverse-logistics and hazardous-material capabilities, but they can prevent otherwise valuable material from moving economically to a refining site.

Cobalt & Lithium Price Volatility Eroding Recycler Margin Predictability

Revenue from recovered metals remains exposed to commodity pricing, while plant construction, permitting, and qualification require multi-year commitments. Lithium carbonate averaged approximately USD 14,000 per tonne in 2024 after reaching USD 71,100 per tonne in 2022. In the United States, the value of lithium-ion battery metals, including cobalt, lithium, and nickel, fell by 40% to 60% in 2024 from 2023 levels amid oversupply.

This volatility is especially difficult for operators dependent on a single chemistry or one recovered material. Lower cobalt content in new cathodes and the increasing penetration of LFP batteries reduce the value available from cobalt and nickel, increasing dependence on lithium recovery efficiency, collection cost, and contracted pricing. Formula-based offtake arrangements and vertical integration can moderate this exposure, but they do not remove the need for flexible processes capable of handling changing feedstock mixes.

The market will also become more chemistry-sensitive. NMC-rich material supports recovery of cobalt and nickel, while LFP feedstock requires a lower-cost route and stronger lithium-recovery economics. As LFP volumes expand, capacity designed around historic NMC value assumptions may face lower margins unless it is adapted for high-throughput, disciplined pre-processing, and material-specific recovery.

Electric Vehicle (EV) Battery Recycling and Material Recovery Market Segment Analysis

By Recycling Process

Hydrometallurgical recycling generated USD 1,219.4 million in 2025, representing 34.8% of market revenue, and is projected to expand at approximately 31.8% CAGR. Its commercial role is selective separation: black mass is leached and processed to recover individual metals at specifications suitable for battery-material supply chains. The route is particularly relevant where regulations and buyers require recovery of lithium as well as cobalt, nickel, and copper.

Pyrometallurgical processing accounted for USD 804.0 million, or 22.9% of the market. It remains useful for mixed or contaminated feedstock because thermal processing can tolerate variability, but it generally requires further refining to recover lithium and produce separated battery-grade materials. Its projected 27.5% CAGR reflects continued use where feedstock flexibility is more valuable than maximum material selectivity.

Direct recycling represented USD 99.7 million in 2025, or 2.8% of market revenue, yet is expected to grow fastest at approximately 33.1% CAGR. The process seeks to preserve or regenerate cathode active material rather than dissolve it into elemental constituents. Its opportunity is strongest when feedstock chemistry is known and degradation can be controlled; its constraint is that battery-grade performance must be demonstrated consistently across variable materials. Cylib's Dormagen project reflects the industry's effort to commercialize a dedicated route for LFP and NMC material rather than rely solely on metal-value recovery.^{[4]American Battery Technology Company. americanbatterytechnology.com}

Pre-processing and black-mass production was the largest process category, generating USD 1,385.3 million in 2025 and accounting for 39.5% of revenue. This position reflects the immediate need to make packs safe, dismantle them, and create a transportable intermediate product. However, a growing pre-processing base without proportionate refining capacity can pressure black-mass pricing. The strategic issue is therefore not only throughput, but whether a producer has an offtake or downstream route that turns black mass into a qualified product.

By Battery Chemistry

Li-ion batteries generated USD 2,782.0 million in 2025, representing approximately 79.3% of market revenue, and are projected to grow at approximately 31.4% CAGR. NMC is the largest Li-ion recycling sub-segment because of its extensive installed base and recoverable nickel and cobalt content. LFP is the fastest-growing sub-segment, reflecting its expanding use in mass-market EVs. LFP's lower cobalt and nickel content shifts the economic emphasis toward lithium recovery, processing yield, and low-cost handling rather than high-value metal credits.

NiMH batteries accounted for USD 192.8 million, or approximately 5.5% of 2025 revenue. Their installed base in hybrid vehicles sustains a specialized market for nickel and associated materials. Toyota's battery-to-battery recycling program, established in 2010, demonstrates the established closed-loop potential for NiMH chemistry and was extended to lithium-ion battery recycling in 2015.^{[5]European Commission - Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs. single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu}

Lead-acid batteries generated USD 518.2 million in 2025, representing approximately 14.8% of the market. The segment remains commercially distinct through industrial electric vehicles, material-handling fleets, airport ground-support equipment, and start-stop hybrid applications. Its collection and recovery infrastructure is generally more mature than lithium-ion infrastructure. Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 requires lead-acid recycling efficiency of 75% by the end of 2025 and 80% by the end of 2030, alongside lead recovery targets of 90% by the end of 2027 and 95% by the end of 2031. The segment's approximately 26.1% CAGR is lower than Li-ion growth, meaning its relative share declines even while established collection networks sustain absolute demand.

Other chemistries contributed USD 15.4 million in 2025. Their smaller scale generally limits dedicated processing investment and makes flexible, multi-chemistry plants more relevant than chemistry-specific facilities.

By Material Recovery

Nickel was the largest material-recovery segment at USD 1,227.2 million in 2025, or 35.0% of revenue, and is expected to grow at approximately 31.0% CAGR. Its importance is linked to NMC and high-nickel cathodes, as well as battery makers' need for high-purity nickel chemical products rather than lower-grade bulk nickel.

Cobalt recovery generated USD 1,065.1 million, representing 30.4% of revenue. Cobalt remains valuable, but its medium-term role is complicated by cathode designs that reduce cobalt loading and by wider LFP adoption. Recyclers able to separate multiple materials are less exposed to this chemistry transition than those whose economics are anchored primarily in cobalt.

Lithium recovery represented USD 701.5 million, or 20.0% of 2025 revenue, and is the fastest-growing material segment at approximately 33.1% CAGR. Its value rests on its relevance to both NMC and LFP batteries and on growing policy interest in domestic lithium supply. The World Bank projects lithium demand could increase by roughly 488% relative to 2020 to meet clean-energy targets. This expands the strategic relevance of secondary lithium, while price swings make efficient recovery and product qualification essential.

Copper generated USD 293.3 million, or 8.4% of revenue, and manganese accounted for USD 138.9 million, or 4.0%. Both are important co-products that improve overall pack economics, but their commercial significance depends on whether upstream separation limits contamination. Other recovered materials contributed USD 82.4 million.

By Battery Source

Manufacturing scrap was the largest source segment in 2025, generating USD 2,032.0 million, or approximately 57.9% of revenue. It is generally concentrated near cell production, compositionally known, and easier to contract than end-of-life material. These qualities reduce collection and sorting costs, allowing refiners to operate more consistently. As cell manufacturing yields improve, scrap generated per unit of output may decline, but the expansion of gigafactory capacity is expected to support continued absolute volumes.

End-of-life EV batteries generated USD 1,139.7 million, or approximately 32.5% of revenue. Their share is expected to rise as the installed EV fleet ages. Unlike scrap, end-of-life batteries require collection systems, diagnostics, and decisions about repair, second-life deployment, or recycling. Their growth creates the strongest opportunity for operators that combine reverse logistics with multi-chemistry processing and certified recovery.

Defective and recalled batteries accounted for USD 336.7 million, or approximately 9.6% of revenue. The category includes formation-cycle rejects, in-process failures, and field recalls. It carries a higher service component than standard scrap because batteries may require thermal-risk management, specialized packaging, isolated storage, and controlled discharge. EPA guidance on damaged, defective, and recalled batteries makes this a compliance-driven stream rather than a feedstock that can be managed solely according to commodity value.

Feedstock source determines the operating model. Manufacturing scrap supports stable throughput and tightly controlled chemistry; end-of-life and defective batteries create the long-term strategic prize but require collection, safety, and sorting capabilities. The most durable process investments will be those that can accommodate a changing mix of NMC and LFP material while preserving multiple routes to monetization.

Electric Vehicle (EV) Battery Recycling and Material Recovery Market Regional Analysis

North America

North America generated USD 385.6 million in 2025 and is projected to expand at approximately 29.4% CAGR through 2035. The United States accounted for USD 320.8 million, while Canada contributed USD 64.9 million. U.S. policy supports domestic battery-material processing through DOE programs and clean-energy manufacturing incentives, creating a financing environment for recycling assets before end-of-life feedstock fully matures.^{[6]U.S. Geological Survey. usgs.gov}

The U.S. market is likely to remain scrap-led in the near term because cell and vehicle manufacturing clusters can supply consistent material. This gives recyclers a strong incentive to locate near battery plants and automotive production corridors rather than only near current vehicle retirement volumes. ABTC received a USD 20 million DOE contract under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law battery-materials program for its Fernley, Nevada recycling project, with an initial 20,000 metric-tonne-per-year capacity target and a 100,000 metric-tonne-per-year scale objective.^{[7]Altilium. altilium.tech}

Canada's role is linked to cross-border North American materials flows and its proximity to U.S. automotive manufacturing. Its market development depends on whether collection, black-mass production, and hydrometallurgical refining are organized as complementary regional assets rather than competing isolated facilities.

Europe

Europe generated USD 658.0 million in 2025 and is expected to record the fastest regional CAGR, approximately 32.9%. The EU Battery Regulation creates a clear compliance timetable for collection, recovery, recycled content, and producer responsibility, making Europe's growth more regulation-led than that of most other markets. The Critical Raw Materials Act and Net-Zero Industry Act reinforce this direction by supporting strategic recycling projects and domestic material security.

Germany accounted for USD 239.1 million in 2025 and is Europe's central industrial recycling market. Cylib secured EUR 63.4 million in December 2025 under Germany's STARK program to build a Dormagen facility with 60,000 tonnes per year of combined LFP and NMC recycling capacity. The April 2026 partnership between TSR Group, part of REMONDIS Group, and BASF combines battery dismantling, discharge, logistics, black-mass production, and metal-fraction processing with BASF's black-mass facility in Schwarzheide. These developments indicate that German competition will increasingly involve waste-logistics groups and chemical-materials companies as well as specialist recyclers.

The United Kingdom is developing a domestic refining position despite operating outside the EU. Altilium received GBP 18.5 million through the DRIVE35 Scale-Up Fund in April 2026 for its ACT3 facility in Plymouth, designed to process up to 24,000 EV batteries annually and recover nickel mixed hydroxide precipitate, lithium sulphate, and graphite. The commercial rationale is to reduce dependence on exports of intermediate material while maintaining battery-supply-chain compatibility with Europe.

France benefits from automotive production and cell-manufacturing-related scrap. LG Energy Solution and Derichebourg announced a recycling joint venture in April 2025 intended to process 20,000 tonnes annually at a French facility from 2028, connecting Polish factory scrap and French end-of-life batteries to recycled-material supply. Italy's market is more dependent on cross-border refining routes, while Spain's vehicle assembly and battery investment base creates an expanding manufacturing-scrap opportunity.

The Netherlands has advantages as a logistics and black-mass trading location because of its ports and proximity to European manufacturing. Sweden combines industrial recycling infrastructure with an emerging cell-manufacturing base; Stena Recycling's Nordic network supports collection and pre-processing. Norway's exceptionally high EV penetration makes it an early indicator of end-of-life volume timing, as older EV cohorts enter the return stream ahead of many neighboring markets.

Asia Pacific

Asia Pacific was the largest regional market at USD 2,367.5 million in 2025 and is projected to grow at approximately 30.2% CAGR. China represented USD 1,886.3 million, reflecting its large EV fleet, battery-manufacturing base, and formal collection framework. China's 2018 Interim Measures place responsibility for collection and recycling on vehicle manufacturers, while the MIIT collection-point system supports a certified recovery network. This combination gives Chinese recyclers earlier access to both manufacturing scrap and regulated end-of-life material.

China's scale advantage is reinforced by vertical integration. CATL and GEM combine recycling with battery-material production, while Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt links metals, cathode materials, and recycling. Huayou's August 2023 agreement with LG Energy Solution created a closed loop connecting pre-processing and metallurgical regeneration with LG's Chinese manufacturing scrap. This structure is significant because it reduces intermediate-material exposure and aligns recovery output with cathode-material demand.

India is developing from a smaller base, but its Battery Waste Management Rules and Advanced Chemistry Cell production incentives are creating both regulatory responsibility and manufacturing-scrap opportunities. The PLI scheme for ACC battery storage has an INR 18,100 crore outlay, supporting a domestic cell-manufacturing base that will eventually require recycling capacity. LOHUM Cleantech and Gravita India are relevant local participants because their operations link battery material recovery with established recycling and collection capabilities.

Japan retains a meaningful NiMH recovery opportunity through its hybrid fleet and established OEM recycling programs. Toyota's long-running battery-to-battery program illustrates how return systems can preserve material value where chemistry and ownership are traceable. South Korea's cell makers are expanding recycling links to meet European recycled-content requirements; the country's 2024 used-battery industry development plan included a recycled-material certification direction and battery-performance evaluation measures.

Australia's role combines a nascent domestic EV recycling market with its position as the world's largest spodumene producer, at approximately 88,000 tonnes in 2024. This creates a strategic basis for domestic pre-processing and material recovery rather than exporting all battery-related value through primary-mineral channels. Indonesia's nickel-processing base gives it long-term relevance to battery materials, although recycling feedstock remains early-stage. Thailand's automotive base and EV30@30 policy create future scrap and end-of-life demand, while Vietnam's growing EV and battery-component manufacturing base and Malaysia's logistics position support regional collection and processing opportunities.

Latin America

Latin America generated USD 55.4 million in 2025 and is projected to grow at approximately 23.3% CAGR. Brazil accounted for USD 21.9 million and offers the region's largest near-term industrial base. Its opportunity is not solely linked to passenger-EV retirements; industrial batteries, local vehicle manufacturing, and mineral-processing capacity can support early pre-processing and collection activity.

Mexico is connected to North American supply chains through vehicle manufacturing and near-shoring. The commercial priority is likely to be contracted manufacturing-scrap management and processing that can integrate with U.S. and Canadian recovery networks. Chile's importance arises from lithium reserves of approximately 9.3 million tonnes, while Argentina produced approximately 18,000 tonnes of lithium in 2024 and held about 4 million tonnes of reserves. Both countries have a longer-term opportunity to integrate recycling with mineral-value-chain development, although domestic EV retirement volumes remain comparatively limited. The key risk is that regional material is exported as intermediate product instead of supporting local refining and qualified battery-material production.

Middle East and Africa

The Middle East and Africa generated USD 41.9 million in 2025 and is expected to grow at approximately 26.4% CAGR. South Africa accounted for USD 22.5 million, supported by industrial battery use, automotive manufacturing, mining expertise, and potential regional black-mass processing. Its immediate market is more likely to be industrial and manufacturing-related than large-scale end-of-life EV collection.

The United Arab Emirates is establishing an early regional reference point. In January 2026, the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, BEEAH Group, and LOHUM announced a joint venture for the UAE's first large-scale EV battery recycling facility in Al Saja'a, Sharjah. The facility is intended to process 1,500 tonnes of lithium-ion batteries in 2026, double capacity by its third year, and provide both recycling and second-life services. Saudi Arabia remains at an earlier stage, but fleet-electrification goals under Vision 2030 and the development of EV infrastructure create a future rationale for localized collection and battery-management capacity.

Emerging regions offer a separate opportunity set. India, the UAE, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Indonesia, and South Africa can build positions around local manufacturing scrap, mineral processing, industrial batteries, or regional logistics before mass EV retirement volumes arrive. Their principal challenge is to avoid becoming collection or black-mass-export locations without establishing enough refining, certification, and offtake capability to retain material value.

Electric Vehicle (EV) Battery Recycling and Material Recovery Market Share & Competitive Landscape

The market is moderately concentrated. CATL held 17.2% of global revenue in 2025, followed by Li-Cycle at 14.8%, GEM at 12.0%, Umicore at 9.0%, Redwood Materials at 8.0%, Ecobat at 5.5%, and Glencore at 4.3%. The five largest companies represented approximately 61% of revenue. Concentration reflects the high capital intensity of refining, the importance of qualified material output, and the value of cell-maker and OEM relationships in securing feedstock.

CATL's position is supported by vertical integration between battery production and recycling. Its recycling activities, including the Brunp platform, can use manufacturing scrap and recovered material within a larger battery-material ecosystem. GEM combines recycling with secondary-material production and holds a significant independent position in China's battery-material value chain.

Li-Cycle's 14.8% share reflects the scale attributed to its spoke-and-hub model, which separates local mechanical processing from centralized hydrometallurgical refining. Its competitive case depends on converting dispersed battery access into economically viable black-mass flows and completing downstream refining capacity.

Umicore's European position is supported by its materials-science and refining capabilities, which align with EU requirements for documented recovery and recycled content. Redwood Materials is positioned around North American closed-loop processing and battery-component supply. The DOE offered Redwood a conditional commitment of up to USD 2 billion under the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program for its Nevada campus, supporting capacity intended to supply anode copper foil and cathode active-material precursor for more than one million EVs annually at full production.^{[8]Huayou. huayou.com}

Ecobat combines established battery-recycling experience with a growing lithium-ion footprint. In April 2025, it reported three fully operational lithium-ion recycling plants in Hettstedt, Casa Grande, and Darlaston, with 10,000 tonnes per year of current combined capacity and plans to reach 25,000 tonnes. Glencore's participation is shaped by its commodity-processing and marketing capabilities, which can provide routes to market for recovered metals.

Cirba Solutions is positioned around North American collection and multi-chemistry processing. Fortum uses Nordic circular-economy and industrial-processing capabilities to support battery-material recovery. ABTC is developing battery-material and recycling capacity at Fernley, Nevada, supported by the confirmed DOE contract. Veolia brings hazardous-waste management and industrial-services capabilities that are particularly relevant to collection, pre-processing, and safety management.

Accurec-Recycling and SNAM Groupe provide European battery-processing experience across multiple chemistries. Gravita India combines its broader recycling platform with India's emerging lithium-ion battery return stream. SK Tes, Stena Recycling, and LOHUM Cleantech are positioned around regional collection networks and expanding multi-market battery-recycling activity.

Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt operates across energy metals, battery materials, and recycling. Established in 2002 and listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2015, the company's battery-recycling platform in Quzhou processes 65,000 tonnes of battery packs per year and is integrated with hydrometallurgical recovery and precursor-material production. Its recycling process achieves black-mass extraction efficiency of 98.5% and lithium extraction rates of approximately 95%, with cobalt and nickel extraction rates exceeding 98.5%. The LG Energy Solution partnership, formalized in August 2023, provides a direct example of closed-loop processing from manufacturing scrap to regenerated materials used in cell production. In 2025, Huayou's ternary cathode shipments reached approximately 100,000 tonnes and nickel product shipments exceeded 292,000 metal tonnes. Its DRC cobalt operations, Indonesian HPAL nickel-processing assets, and Chinese refining and cathode-material facilities together form a vertically integrated supply model connecting upstream mineral extraction to battery recycling and back to cathode-material production.

Aqua Metals is pursuing electrochemical metal-recovery approaches, while Cylib is developing dedicated industrial-scale recycling capacity for LFP and NMC feedstocks. Green Li-ion Pte is positioned around cathode-material regeneration and circular battery-material processing. Across the competitive landscape, the principal differentiators are feedstock access, ability to handle multiple chemistries safely, recovery yield, battery-grade product qualification, and proximity to regulated end markets.

Recent Industry Developments

• April 2026: Altilium secured GBP 18.5 million from the DRIVE35 Scale-Up Fund for its ACT3 recycling facility in Plymouth, United Kingdom. The project is designed to process up to 24,000 EV batteries annually and recover nickel, lithium, and graphite for battery supply chains.

• April 2026: TSR Group, part of REMONDIS Group, and BASF announced a strategic partnership for EV battery recycling in Europe. The collaboration covers dismantling, discharging, black-mass production, metal-fraction processing, and associated logistics, with BASF's Schwarzheide operation providing downstream black-mass capability.

• January 2026: The UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, BEEAH Group, and LOHUM announced a joint venture for a large-scale EV battery recycling and second-life facility in Sharjah. Initial processing capacity is planned at 1,500 tonnes of lithium-ion batteries in 2026.

• December 2025: Cylib received EUR 63.4 million through Germany's STARK program for its Dormagen recycling facility. The project is designed for 30,000 tonnes per year each of LFP and NMC material, for 60,000 tonnes per year in total.

• April 2025: Ecobat announced that lithium-ion recycling facilities in Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom had become operational within a 12-month period, providing 10,000 tonnes per year of combined current capacity.