Gravita India CEO Yogesh Malhotra disclosed that the company has identified a few potential companies that could provide the technology for recycling lithium-ion batteries
Bullish on the growing electric mobility ecosystem of the country coupled with the government’s support to the sector through schemes and incentives, India’s largest battery recycling company Gravita India is now venturing into the electric vehicle battery recycling business.
In a conversation with Moneycontrol, Gravita India CEO Yogesh Malhotra disclosed that the company has identified a few potential companies that could provide the technology for recycling lithium-ion batteries and talks are at an advanced stage with one firm based in Europe.
With the growth of electric vehicles forecasted to be imminent, the company expects the demand for recycling lithium batteries to become viable in six to seven years, by when it will be ready for the market.
Currently, 87 percent of Gravita India’s business comes from recycling lead batteries and the rest is from other segments including plastic and aluminium recycling. It plans to increase business from segments other than lead to about 25 percent.
According to the International Energy Agency, 100-120 GWh of electric vehicle batteries will be retired by 2030, a volume roughly equivalent to current annual battery production. Without effective measures to address such volumes, this can become a significant environmental liability, it said. Spent batteries can be channelled to second-use or recycling with the aid of policies that help to steer these markets towards sustainable end-of-life practices, the IEA said.
Gravita India is also setting up a recycling plant in Mundra in Gujarat, which will become operational by August 2021. Smelting and refinery facilities for battery recycling will be available at this plant.
Malhotra said the government’s focus on recycling has helped to improve the availability of domestic raw material, which was hard to obtain earlier. With the implementation of the Battery Waste Management Rules, battery companies have increased their share of recycling through authorised recyclers and this has significantly boosted the availability of raw material in the domestic market.
“We have tie-ups with major battery companies including Amara Raja Batteries and HBL Power. Now, we are sourcing increased raw material domestically. Currently, organised recyclers in India are recycling 40-50 percent of the domestic scrap and this is expected to increase to 75-80 percent over the next three years,” he said.
