Battery Recycling Market

Lithium recovery of 50% by 2027 and 80% by 2031, written into the EU Batteries Regulation adopted on 12 July 2023 and summarised by the European Parliament Legislative Observatory, turns every spent cell sold in Europe into regulated feedstock rather than waste. The battery recycling market covers the collection, sorting, smelting and chemical refining of spent lead-acid, lithium-ion and nickel-based batteries and production scrap, valued at what recyclers earn for recovered lead, nickel, cobalt, lithium salts, copper and plastics. Douglas Insights sizes the battery recycling market at USD 21.52 billion in 2025, rising to USD 38.83 billion by 2035 at a revenue CAGR of 6.08%, built as 14,324,500 tonnes of spent batteries times an average USD 1,502.39 a tonne. The study belongs to the recycling and circular materials hub and follows our research methodology.

Which companies run the largest lead smelters and black-mass plants in battery recycling?

No single company controls battery recycling: Douglas Insights estimates the leader, Brunp, holds a 2.33% share of 2025 revenue. Thousands of secondary lead smelters serve the starter battery stream, while a shorter list of lithium-ion refiners in China, Europe and North America competes for black mass, the shredded powder of cathode and anode material.

Brunp, the recycling arm of CATL, reports more than 120,000 tonnes of waste batteries processed in a year, 17,100 tonnes of recycled lithium salts, 99.6% recovery for nickel, cobalt and manganese and 96.5% for lithium. Douglas Insights puts that tonnage at about USD 501.6 million of revenue, the largest single lithium-ion position. Glencore took over the Li-Cycle hub and spoke network on 8 August 2025 and now runs it as Glencore Battery Recycling, according to the Glencore Li-Cycle page. Gravita India, a lead recycler with 14 plants in 9 countries, delivered 198,398 tonnes of recycled lead in its fiscal year to March 2026 and has commissioned a pilot lithium-ion battery recycling line.

Umicore runs a pyro-hydrometallurgical route at Hoboken, Belgium, whose smelter can take 7,000 tonnes of electric vehicle batteries a year and recovers more than 95% of nickel, copper and cobalt, according to the Umicore newsroom. Redwood Materials, in Nevada and South Carolina, raised USD 350 million in a Series E round on 23 October 2025 and closed it at USD 425 million on 28 January 2026, as listed in Redwood Materials news. Ecobat, based in Dallas, remains a large lead-acid battery recycling and lead producer after selling its lithium recycling business in Casa Grande, Arizona, a sale it calls its exit from lithium.

Gravita holds about 1.95% on our pricing of its lead output, so the two largest disclosed operators together hold 4.28%. Concentration is higher inside lithium-ion: Douglas Insights reckons the five largest black-mass refiners handle 41.8% of that segment’s 2025 tonnage, against a single-digit share for the five largest lead smelters. Readers tracking the lead feed should pair this page with our Metal Recycling Market study.

Which battery chemistry makes the money in recycling, lead-acid or lithium-ion?

Lead-acid makes the money today: 77.77% of battery recycling revenue, USD 16.74 billion in 2025, comes from starter and industrial lead batteries. Lithium-ion holds 20.59% but grows 14.56% a year, so by 2035 it nearly matches lead-acid in value across all regions.

Lead-acid recycling earns USD 16.74 billion because nearly every car battery is returned at replacement and lead melts back to specification at low cost. Lithium-ion recycling earns USD 4.43 billion on far fewer tonnes, since a tonne of nickel-rich cells carries roughly 3.2 times the recoverable value of a tonne of lead batteries. Nickel metal hydride and other chemistries, including hybrid car packs, nickel-cadmium tool batteries and primary cells, add USD 352.9 million and grow 2.92% a year as hybrids age out.

Lithium-ion is the fastest-growing segment at 14.56% a year. Tonnage rises 13.2% annually as the first large wave of electric vehicle packs reaches end of life and gigafactory scrap keeps flowing, while price per tonne adds 1.2% as lithium iron phosphate cells, with less nickel and cobalt to sell, take a larger slice of the feed. The reader sizing the cell side should see our EV Battery Market report.

How do pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy and direct recycling split lithium-ion battery black mass?

Hydrometallurgy treats most lithium-ion black mass, about 71.4% of 2025 lithium-ion battery recycling tonnage by Douglas Insights count, because acid leaching recovers lithium that a smelter loses to slag. Pyrometallurgy keeps about 26.1%, and direct recycling remains a pilot route below 3%.

Pyrometallurgy melts whole modules and sells a nickel, cobalt and copper alloy; it accepts mixed and dirty feed, which is why Umicore pairs a smelter with a refinery and quotes more than 95% recovery for those three metals. Hydrometallurgy shreds the cells first, then dissolves black mass in sulphuric acid and precipitates battery-grade salts; Brunp reports 96.5% lithium recovery on that route. Direct recycling tries to relithiate cathode powder without breaking it into salts, which saves reagents but needs clean, sorted feed of a single chemistry.

Lead-acid battery recycling uses its own mature flowsheet: breaking, separation of grids, paste, polypropylene and acid, then reverberatory or rotary furnace smelting and refining. Douglas Insights values the polypropylene and sodium sulphate co-products at about USD 95 per tonne of spent lead battery, a small but steady top-up to metal revenue.

What share of battery recycling feedstock comes from automotive starter batteries, electric vehicle batteries, manufacturing scrap and portable batteries?

Automotive starter batteries supply about 79.2% of 2025 battery recycling tonnage, roughly 11.35 million tonnes, by Douglas Insights estimate. Industrial lead batteries, electric vehicle batteries, manufacturing scrap and portable batteries share the remaining 2.97 million tonnes, with scrap the largest lithium-ion source.

The International Lead and Zinc Study Group reported world refined lead production of 13,633 thousand tonnes in 2025, with secondary material at 67.4%, which is 9.19 million tonnes of recycled lead. Douglas Insights assigns 86% of that secondary lead to spent batteries and assumes 61% recoverable lead per tonne of battery, giving 12.95 million tonnes of lead-acid units processed. Starter batteries are about 87.6% of that lead stream; forklift, telecom and backup units make up the rest.

Manufacturing scrap still outweighs end-of-life packs inside the 1.06 million tonnes of lithium-ion battery feedstock, at about 58.3% by our estimate. The International Energy Agency expects scrap to remain about two-thirds of feed in 2030, with end-of-life electric vehicle and storage batteries becoming the largest source from 2035. Portable batteries from phones, laptops and power tools contribute about 0.21 million tonnes, held back by low household return rates.

Why are electric vehicle packs and gigafactory scrap lifting battery recycling tonnage?

Battery recycling tonnage grows 2.98% a year to 2035, and lithium-ion feed explains most of it: 2.21 of those points come from electric vehicle packs and gigafactory scrap. Regulated collection in Europe adds 0.48 points and the lead-acid replacement cycle 0.29 points.

Lithium-ion feed from vehicles and cell plants: 2.21 points

Lithium-ion feedstock rises from 1.06 million tonnes in 2025 to about 3.67 million tonnes in 2035 on our model, a 13.2% annual climb. The International Energy Agency reports that pretreatment and material recovery capacity grew 50% in 2023 alone, and that China held 80% of both. Each new cell plant rejects electrodes and formation failures at start-up, and every gigawatt-hour of output carries scrap that a recycler buys before any car is scrapped. Douglas Insights assumes 12 to 15 years of service for the first large electric car fleets; after that, end-of-life battery recycling takes over from scrap as the driver.

EU collection and recovery targets: 0.48 points

Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 entered into force on 17 August 2023 and sets portable battery collection at 63% by the end of 2027 and 73% by the end of 2030, with light means of transport batteries at 51% by 2028 and 61% by 2031. It also asks for 90% recovery of cobalt, copper, lead and nickel by 2027 and 95% by 2031, according to the European Parliament summary. Douglas Insights expects those targets to pull about 0.48 points of extra tonnage into licensed battery recycling, mostly portable and e-bike batteries that today end up in household waste.

Lead-acid replacement and grid backup: 0.29 points

World refined lead usage rose 1.5% in 2025 to 13,563 thousand tonnes, and almost every tonne eventually returns to a smelter as a spent battery. Electric cars still carry a 12-volt auxiliary battery, and telecom and data centre backup keeps industrial lead batteries in service. Douglas Insights counts 0.29 points of volume from that steady lead-acid battery recycling base, small in rate but huge in tonnes.

Together the three drivers add 2.98 points a year. Scrap comes first. Old cars follow. The price leg, 3.01% a year, comes mostly from mix: as lithium-ion moves from 7.4% of tonnes to 19.1%, the blended value per tonne rises even if metal prices stay flat. Mix, not metal, lifts price. Douglas Insights treats that shift as the single largest swing factor in battery recycling revenue to 2035.

Which bottlenecks in black-mass refining hold battery recyclers below nameplate capacity?

Idle shredders are the main battery recycling bottleneck, costing 0.36 points of volume growth. The International Energy Agency says announced 2030 capacity could reach seven times available feedstock. Informal lead smelting and weak lithium prices take a further 0.41 points.

Overbuilt capacity hurts first. Plants opened ahead of feed. Li-Cycle’s assets ended up sold to Glencore, and Ecobat left lithium recycling altogether. Douglas Insights sets the drag from closures, idle spokes and delayed hubs at 0.36 points of battery recycling tonnage growth, mostly in North America and Europe where plants were sized for 2030 feed.

Informal smelting is the second drag. Lead leaks. Unlicensed backyard lead recovery in parts of South Asia and Africa diverts spent batteries away from registered plants, and Douglas Insights estimates that leakage at about 9.4% of the lead-acid battery stream outside Europe and North America, costing 0.23 points of measured growth.

Low metal prices bite third. Lithium iron phosphate cells contain no nickel or cobalt, so their recycling value rests on lithium and copper alone, and a weak lithium price can push gate fees above recovered value. Douglas Insights removes 0.18 points for feed that waits in storage rather than going to a refinery.

Where is spent battery recycling concentrated, and why does Asia Pacific hold 53.42%?

Asia Pacific leads battery recycling with USD 11.50 billion in 2025, 53.42% of revenue, because China refines most of the world’s secondary lead and holds 80% of lithium-ion material recovery capacity. Europe grows fastest at 7.08% a year, pushed by binding recovery targets.

Asia Pacific grows 6.36% a year to USD 21.30 billion by 2035, with China, South Korea, Japan and India all running both lead and lithium-ion lines; ILZSG data imply 5,425 thousand tonnes of refined lead were produced in China in 2025. Europe, at USD 4.01 billion in 2025, reaches USD 7.95 billion by 2035, the fastest rate, as the 2027 and 2031 recovery thresholds force battery recycling into licensed plants. North America holds USD 4.15 billion and grows 4.86% to USD 6.67 billion, with a large lead smelting base and new black-mass refiners in Nevada and South Carolina.

Latin America is worth USD 1.04 billion in 2025 and grows 3.87% to USD 1.51 billion, almost all from lead-acid battery recycling in Brazil and Mexico. The Middle East and Africa is the wildcard: USD 832.8 million in 2025 growing 5.39% a year to USD 1.41 billion, as formal smelters such as Gravita’s plants in Ghana, Senegal, Mozambique, Tanzania and Togo replace informal recovery.

How much does a recycler earn per tonne of spent lead-acid or lithium-ion battery?

A battery recycler earns about USD 1,292 per tonne of spent lead-acid battery and about USD 4,180 per tonne of mixed lithium-ion feed in 2025, by Douglas Insights estimate. The blended figure across all chemistries is USD 1,502.39 a tonne.

Lead sets the floor. It rarely moves much. The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis lead price series averaged USD 1,962.25 a tonne across the 12 months of 2025, from a low of USD 1,905.75 in April to a high of USD 2,030.88 in March. At 61% recoverable lead, a tonne of spent battery yields about USD 1,197 of metal, plus about USD 95 of polypropylene and sulphate, for USD 1,292 in all.

Lithium-ion realisations spread widely. Chemistry decides. Nickel averaged USD 15,161.33 a tonne in 2025 on the same Federal Reserve series family, and nickel manganese cobalt black mass trades at a payable percentage of contained metal. Douglas Insights places nickel-rich feed at USD 5,200 to USD 6,400 a tonne of cells and lithium iron phosphate feed at USD 1,300 to USD 1,900, giving the USD 4,180 battery recycling average. Nickel metal hydride and other packs realise about USD 1,140 a tonne.

Which rules in the EU Batteries Regulation set battery recycling recovery for lithium at 80% by 2031?

Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 sets material recovery for battery recycling at 50% for lithium by 2027 and 80% by 2031, and 90% rising to 95% for cobalt, copper, lead and nickel. It replaced Directive 2006/66/EC, repealed from 18 August 2025, as the Legislative Observatory record of the procedure sets out.

Recycling efficiency targets apply too: 80% for nickel-cadmium batteries and 50% for other waste batteries by the end of 2025, according to the European Parliament summary. Recycled content rules follow, with initial minimums of 16% for cobalt, 85% for lead, 6% for lithium and 6% for nickel in new industrial, electric vehicle and starter batteries. Those content rules turn recycled lithium salts and nickel sulphate from by-products into a compliance input, which cell makers must buy from battery recycling plants.

Outside Europe, recycling rules mainly govern licensing and emissions at smelters rather than metal recovery rates. Douglas Insights counts the 27 EU member states under the 2027 thresholds, inside a European region worth 18.63% of world battery recycling revenue.

What does recycled lithium and nickel from battery recycling change for cathode makers by 2031?

Recycled metal from battery recycling becomes a contract input: a European cell maker needs at least 6% recycled lithium and 6% recycled nickel under the 2031 content minimums. Douglas Insights expects 21.7% of lithium-ion recycling revenue to come from offtake contracts with cathode makers by 2031.

Brunp’s 17,100 tonnes of recycled lithium salts show the scale one refiner already reaches. For buyers, the questions are recovery yield, impurity limits and chain of custody: Umicore targets 80% lithium recovery on its process, while Brunp reports 96.5%. Readers following primary supply should also see our Lithium Mining Market report, since recycled lithium competes with mined spodumene and brine on every cathode tender.

What would a slower or faster lithium-ion feedstock ramp do to the 2035 battery recycling figure?

Our base case puts battery recycling revenue at USD 38.83 billion in 2035, on 2.98% volume growth and 3.01% price growth. A slower case gives USD 30.45 billion and a faster case USD 47.15 billion, depending mainly on lithium-ion feed.

The slower case assumes longer electric vehicle battery lives, more second-life storage use and continued closures of overbuilt black-mass plants. The faster case assumes the EU Batteries Regulation, in force since 17 August 2023, is enforced on schedule for its 2027 and 2031 recovery thresholds, and that similar rules spread to other large car markets. A single extra point of tonnage growth adds about USD 3.94 billion to the 2035 value.

Published forecasts for battery recycling run from about 6.74% to 11.2% a year. Our 6.08% sits just below that band, because Douglas Insights prices lead-acid, three quarters of revenue, at a 2.36% growth rate that most lithium-led forecasts underweight.

Douglas Exclusive: the Battery Recycling Feedstock Value Index

The Battery Recycling Feedstock Value Index is a Douglas Insights model built from 31 sourced inputs. Those are 12 monthly lead prices, 12 monthly nickel prices, 2 ILZSG lead statistics, 4 Brunp operating figures and the Umicore Hoboken capacity. It compares the recoverable value of one tonne of spent battery by chemistry, with lead-acid set to 100.

The index finds that a tonne of lithium-ion feed is worth 3.2 times a tonne of lead-acid feed, which is why battery recycling capital flows to black mass even though lead still supplies 90.4% of tonnes. It also shows the risk: across 2025 the monthly nickel price swung 9.4% from low to high, against 6.6% for lead, so lithium-ion recycling margins move faster in both directions.

Which receipts tie 14,324,500 tonnes of spent batteries to the battery recycling total?

Douglas Insights calculates battery recycling revenue as 14,324,500 tonnes of spent batteries times USD 1,502.39 a tonne, giving USD 21.52 billion in 2025. The model covers 5 regions and 3 chemistries, and draws on 31 index inputs plus 9 company and regulatory data points.

Lead-acid: 13,633 thousand tonnes of refined lead times 67.4% secondary, times 86% from batteries, divided by 61% lead content, gives 12.95 million tonnes at USD 1,292. Lithium-ion: 1.06 million tonnes at USD 4,180. Other chemistries: 0.31 million tonnes at USD 1,140. Cross-check one: Brunp’s 120,000 tonnes are 11.3% of our lithium-ion tonnage, consistent with a leader in a market where China holds 80% of capacity. Cross-check two: our USD 21.52 billion sits 19.6% above the lowest published 2025 estimate of USD 18.0 billion and 2.89 points below the midpoint of the published growth band.

Sources

1. European Parliament Legislative Observatory Batteries and waste batteries, procedure summary (2023)
2. EUR-Lex Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 (2023)
3. International Lead and Zinc Study Group Lead market press release, February 2026 (2026)
4. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Global price of Lead (2026)
5. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Global price of Nickel (2026)
6. Glencore Li-Cycle acquired by Glencore (2025)
7. Umicore Umicore battery recycling approach (2023)
8. Redwood Materials Redwood Materials news (2026)
9. Gravita India Investor presentation, July 2026 (2026)
10. International Energy Agency Recycling of Critical Minerals (2024)