New Delhi (ABC Live): India’s clean-energy push has created a new question. Where will India get the minerals needed for EVs, batteries, solar power, wind turbines, chips, telecom systems and defence tools?

Earlier, India’s energy risk came mainly from imported oil. Now, however, a new risk may come from lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, copper and rare earths.

These minerals are not minor inputs. Instead, they power EV batteries, grid storage, solar panels, magnets and many digital systems.

Therefore, India must treat critical mineral waste as a national asset. Used batteries, old phones, broken laptops, solar panels and industrial scrap are not only waste. In fact, they are also urban mines.

As a result, waste policy has now become mineral policy. Moreover, recycling has become part of India’s clean-energy plan.

Why This Issue Has Become Urgent

India wants clean mobility, green energy and an advanced industry. However, these goals need a steady mineral supply.

Mining can help. However, mining takes time. Overseas mineral assets can also help. Yet they carry costs, risks, and delays.

As a result, recycling gives India a faster path. It can recover minerals already present in products used domestically.

Moreover, recycling can reduce pollution and support the local industry simultaneously.

For this reason, the latest India-EU announcement matters.

On 5 May 2026, India and the European Union launched a joint call for proposals on EV battery recycling under the India-EU Trade and Technology Council Working Group-2 on Green and Clean Energy Technologies.

The call has a combined funding pool of €15.2 million, or nearly ₹169 crore. In addition, the deadline for proposals is 15 September 2026.

The plan will support advanced recycling, high material recovery, safe collection, digital tracking, mixed battery handling and pilot testing in India. Consequently, it can help India build a safer and stronger recycling model before battery waste grows sharply.
Source: PIB

Why ABC Live Links This With Critical Mineral Reforms

ABC Live earlier analysed India’s royalty reforms for critical mineral exploration. That report explained how India is trying to improve mineral security through better rules for exploration and investment.

However, exploration is only one side of the story. Recycling is the other side.

Exploration finds new minerals under the ground. By contrast, recycling recovers minerals already present in India’s economy.

Therefore, India needs both. In addition, India needs a clear policy link between exploration, imports and recycling.

Source: ABC Live — India’s Royalty Reforms for Critical Mineral Exploration

What Is Critical Mineral Waste?

Critical mineral waste means waste that contains minerals needed for clean energy, digital tools, defence systems and advanced industry.

In simple terms, it includes used products from which India can recover key minerals. Therefore, it should not be treated like ordinary waste.

The India-EU EV Battery Recycling Plan

The PIB release says the India-EU call aims to secure critical raw materials, speed up the circular economy and deepen India-EU ties.

Meanwhile, the EU will fund its part through Horizon Europe. India’s part will be supported by the Ministry of Heavy Industries.

In addition, the plan supports a joint pilot line in India. Therefore, the project can move beyond paper research and test real recycling models.

Source: PIB

Key Facts

Why Battery Recycling Matters Most Now

EV batteries contain high-value minerals. At the same time, they also carry safety risks if handled poorly.

For example, damaged lithium-ion batteries can catch fire. In addition, unsafe dismantling can harm workers and pollute soil and water.

Therefore, India must build a formal battery recycling chain before large volumes of used EV batteries enter the waste stream. Otherwise, India may face both mineral loss and public safety risk.

Battery Waste Can Recover

Data Box: Why the Timing Matters

The Ministry of Heavy Industries has noted that India’s EV battery recycling market was valued at about ₹1,380 crore to ₹3,510 crore in 2024-25.

Further, it may reach nearly ₹4,14,000 crore by 2035. It also cites a NITI Aayog estimate that India may have 128 GWh of recyclable battery capacity by 2030.

What this shows: India’s battery waste stream is still growing. Nevertheless, the future scale is large. Therefore, India must build capacity before the waste arrives in bulk. Otherwise, valuable minerals may leak into unsafe channels.

Why Critical Mineral Waste Recycling Is Important for India

1. It Can Reduce Import Dependence

India depends on foreign supply chains for many critical minerals and processed materials. Consequently, this creates risk.

Prices can rise. Export rules can change. War or trade conflict can also block supply.

Recycling cannot replace mining fully. Still, it can create a local supply of lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite and rare metals.

As a result, it can act as a mineral security shield. Moreover, recycling can reduce pressure on foreign exchange. Therefore, it has both strategic and economic value.

2. It Can Support EV Manufacturing

India’s EV plan cannot succeed only through subsidies and charging stations. EVs need batteries. Similarly, batteries need minerals.

Therefore, India needs a strong battery material chain.

The India-EU plan helps because it focuses on high recovery rates, mixed battery chemistry, digital collection and safe second-life use.

In addition, battery recycling can support cell makers. As a result, India can build more value inside the country.

3. It Can Turn Waste Into an Urban Mine

Used batteries and old electronics contain valuable materials. Therefore, India can recover these minerals instead of losing them to unsafe scrap yards or low-value exports.

This shift is important. In fact, it changes the view of waste.

Waste becomes a source of national value. Moreover, urban mining is faster than fresh mining. Therefore, it can support India while new mines and overseas assets take shape.

4. It Can Strengthen the Critical Mineral Mission

India’s critical mineral plan needs three support systems: exploration, overseas sourcing and recycling.

Each route plays a different role. However, each must support the same goal: mineral security.

As ABC Live noted in its earlier report, royalty reform can help exploration. However, recycling can give quicker results because the minerals are already inside India’s economy.

Thus, recycling should become a formal pillar of the mission. In addition, it should be linked to EV, solar and electronics policy.

5. It Can Reduce Pollution

Poor waste handling creates serious risks. E-waste can release toxic metals. Batteries can cause fires. Solar panels may also contain harmful substances.

Therefore, India needs formal recycling. It must use safe collection, proper storage, trained workers and high-quality recovery methods.

Otherwise, the same waste that could support industry may damage public health. At the same time, better recycling can reduce pressure on fresh mining.

Consequently, it can cut land, water and carbon costs.

India’s Main Critical Mineral Waste Streams

Overall, these streams show that critical mineral waste is spread across many sectors. Therefore, India needs a multi-sector recycling policy, not only an EV battery policy.

What the India-EU Plan Gets Right

It Links Recycling With Mineral Security

The PIB release clearly connects EV battery recycling with critical raw material security and the circular economy.

This matters because battery recycling is not only waste management. It is also industrial policy.

It Focuses on Real Technology

The plan covers high recovery, mixed chemistry handling and pilot-scale work.

This is important because battery recycling is not simple. Different batteries need different methods. Therefore, India needs tested technology, not only collection targets.

It Brings Digital Tracking Into the System

Digital collection and tracking can reduce leakage. Moreover, it can help producers, recyclers and regulators know where batteries go after use.

As a result, enforcement can become easier.

It Includes the Informal Sector

India already has a large scrap and waste network. Therefore, the informal sector cannot be ignored.

At the same time, workers must be trained, registered and protected. Otherwise, formal recycling may grow slowly while unsafe channels continue.

What India Must Fix

1. Funding Must Lead to Scale

The ₹169 crore initiative can support pilots. However, India’s future waste volume will need far more money, plants and trained workers.

Therefore, India should use this plan as a bridge to large investment. In addition, it should link the pilot with state industrial clusters.

2. India Must Not Export Low-Value Waste

India should not only collect used batteries and export black mass.

Instead, it should recover battery-grade lithium, cobalt, nickel and graphite inside India. Otherwise, India will lose the highest value in the recycling chain.

3. Second-Life Batteries Need Safety Rules

Second-life batteries can support storage and backup power. However, unsafe reuse can cause fires.

Therefore, India needs testing, safety labels and insurance rules. Moreover, clear standards will help investors and users trust second-life systems.

4. Battery Passports Are Needed

India should require digital battery records. This will help regulators track movement, safety status and end-of-life handling.

Consequently, battery passports can reduce leakage and improve safety.

National Security Angle

Critical minerals are not only clean-energy minerals. They are also security minerals.

As a result, recycling supports Atmanirbhar Bharat, Make in India, clean energy and defence readiness. Moreover, it reduces exposure to global supply shocks.

What India Should Do Now

1. Build a National Critical Mineral Waste Inventory

India should map how much lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, copper, silver and rare earth material exists in e-waste, EV batteries, solar waste, wind equipment and industrial scrap.

Without this map, policy will remain incomplete.

2. Create Recycling Clusters

India should build clusters near EV, electronics and clean-energy hubs. These may include Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi-NCR.

This will reduce transport cost and improve feedstock supply.

3. Mandate Digital Tracking

Battery passports and QR-based tracking should become mandatory for EV batteries and large storage systems.

Consequently, producers and recyclers will be easier to monitor.

4. Move From Scrap to Refined Materials

India must recover materials at quality levels suitable for batteries and electronics.

Otherwise, it will gain only low-value recycling margins.

5. Bring Informal Recyclers Into the Formal System

India should register and train waste workers. At the same time, it must stop unsafe dismantling.

Moreover, formal inclusion can protect workers and improve recovery.

6. Link Recycling With Government Buying

Government EV fleets, buses and storage projects should include end-of-life recycling contracts.

This will create assured demand for formal recyclers. In turn, it will help recycling plants secure feedstock.

ABC Live Ratio Box

Editorial Conclusion: India Must Build a Circular Mineral Economy

The India-EU EV battery recycling plan comes at the right time.

It shows that future clean-energy power will not depend only on EV sales, solar parks and battery factories. Rather, it will also depend on who controls the minerals inside those technologies.

India cannot replace oil dependence with lithium, cobalt, graphite or rare-earth dependence. Therefore, critical mineral waste recycling must become a core part of India’s industrial policy.

The choice is clear. India can let used batteries, e-waste and solar scrap become pollution. Alternatively, it can recover them as strategic minerals.

Finally, if India acts early, its next mineral revolution may not begin only in a mine. It may also begin in a recycling plant, where discarded batteries and electronics become the raw material of India’s clean-energy future.