Chennai: The government has prohibited exports of the waste, scrap or spent lithium-ion battery. This will help recovery of lithium, nickel, cobalt and graphite from the scrap.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade prohibited exports of waste, and scrap of primary cells, primary batteries and electric accumulators, spent primary cells, spent batteries and spent electric accumulators, unsorted and not containing lead, cadmium and mercury. This includes Lithium-ion battery black mass.
The order will come into effect immediately.
India recorded zero exports of these items in FY2026. According to GTRI, the government would have acted to prevent future shipments and keep the material available to domestic refiners. India has low resources of these materials and most of supply is met through imports.
Black mass is the dark powder left after used lithium-ion batteries or battery manufacturing scrap are shredded and larger pieces of metal and plastic are removed. Depending on the battery chemistry, refiners can recover lithium, nickel, cobalt and graphite from the powder.
Recovering more of these materials at home could reduce battery makers’ reliance on imports.
However, black mass can also contain toxic electrolyte residues and heavy metals that require further treatment. Hazardous-waste rules require prior permission for such shipments, but exporters can evade scrutiny by declaring the material as cobalt powder, a nickel intermediate or another industrial product.
“Effective enforcement will depend on Customs checking how the material was produced as well as how it was declared since a different name or tariff code can conceal the same waste,” GTRI said.
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