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China's EV battery waste boom sparks gold rush in recycling sector

As China's green transformation speeds up, the waste from electric vehicle (EV) batteries and solar panels is quickly turning into a profitable business, according to a report by the South China Morning Post. Chinese companies are seeing a rising demand for recycling machines that extract valuable metals like lithium, cobalt and nickel from exhausted lithium-ion batteries and retired photovoltaic modules. These components, often dubbed 'white gold', retain significant value and are key to China's mineral self-reliance strategy. At a recent environmental tech trade fair in Shanghai, businesses found that around 70 per cent of their operations now revolve around recycling equipment for batteries and solar panels. The trend mirrors a national pivot toward circular economy practices, driven by growing volumes of new-energy waste and tightening regulations. Millions of tons of used car batteries to be scrapped annually After a decade of rapid EV growth, battery retirement in China is gathering pace. Projections show over four million tonnes of used car batteries will be scrapped annually by 2028, potentially generating a recycling industry worth more than 280 billion yuan ($38.5 billion). Solar panel waste is also set to rise sharply over the next five years. Amid rising global trade tensions and challenges in securing overseas mineral supplies, China is ramping up domestic recovery efforts. A state-owned behemoth, China Resources Recycling Group, was formed last year to streamline recycling of everything from electronics to wind and solar infrastructure. However, the sector is still nascent. A white-list policy governs 156 certified recyclers; however, illegal workshops still dominate due to weak collection networks, the report noted. Despite high-tech advances, such as CATL's claim of recovering over 90 per cent of key materials from old batteries, many recyclers face overcapacity as legal supply lags. There are 177,000 battery recycling-related enterprises in China, and more than sixty percent of them were established within 3 years #BatteryRecycling — World Battery & Energy Storage Industry Expo(WBE) (@WBE_Linda) May 6, 2025 Better oversight needed in EV sector With regulatory support growing and EV adoption accelerating, industry players expect a surge in waste volumes and investment opportunities. But experts warn that without tighter oversight and better infrastructure, China's ambitions for a closed-loop green economy could face critical bottlenecks. Lithium-ion batteries have a finite life, and the scarcity of raw materials like lithium, cobalt, and nickel, battery recycling is essential for sustainability, cost-efficiency, and resource security. EV battery recycling in India In India, used EV batteries are either repurposed for second-life applications like stationary energy storage or recycled to recover valuable materials like lithium, cobalt, and nickel. The government is also developing standards for battery recycling, such as the Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022, which mandates EV manufacturers to collect and recycle used batteries. As well as the PLI Scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC), which also encourages the development of a circular battery economy and the Swachh Bharat Mission and E-Waste Management Rules. According to a 2024 report by S&P Global, Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery demand in India is expected to jump from 4 GWh in 2023 to 139 GWh by 2035, driven primarily by the light vehicle segment (especially compact SUVs). The same report also expects India's domestic sourcing to reach 13 per cent by 2030, down from a heavy reliance on imports from China, South Korea, and Japan.