Centre bans export of battery waste, including lithium-ion black mass | Economy & Policy News

The Centre on Tuesday prohibited the export of waste and scrap of primary cells, primary batteries and electric accumulators, including lithium-ion battery black mass, with immediate effect.

“The export policy of waste and scrap of primary cells, primary batteries and electric accumulators; spent primary cells, spent primary batteries and spent electric accumulators – Unsorted and not containing lead, cadmium or mercury (Lithium-ion Battery Black Mass)…is amended from ‘Free’ to ‘Prohibited’ with immediate effect, until further orders,” the DGFT said.

The amendment was made under the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992, and will come into effect immediately, the notification said.

The move comes as the government seeks to strengthen domestic battery recycling capacity and secure supplies of critical minerals. Black mass, produced by shredding used lithium-ion batteries, contains valuable materials such as lithium, cobalt and nickel, which can be recovered for use in new batteries.

The government said in October that India’s capacity to process black mass and extract these minerals remains limited, with some of the material being exported without its valuable minerals being recovered. Under its ₹1,500-crore incentive scheme for critical mineral recycling, launched in September, the government is seeking to expand domestic capacity to recover such materials from spent batteries and electronic waste.