Haryana-based BatX Energies has raised $1.6 million (INR 13 crore) in seed funding to expand its lithium-ion battery recycling operations. The seed funding round was led by JITO Angel Network.
BatX Energies aims to recycle approximately 1 billion lithium-ion cells over the next three years. It already has an end-of-life battery recycling unit in the Secunderabad industrial area near Bulandshahar district of Uttar Pradesh, where it can annually produce up to 15,000 metric tons of black mass, a mixture of battery anode and cathode materials, with battery input of 30,000 metric tonnes. The used batteries undergo a seven-layer mechanical process involving shredding and crushing to produce black mass. Secondary products from this process include high-grade plastic, aluminum, copper, and stainless steel, which are bought by recyclers.
“BatX Energies will establish a commercial-scale battery material extraction plant co-located with its recycling unit. Using a hydrometallurgical process, the plant will produce specific battery materials from the black mass. The plant will produce up to 20,000 tons of battery materials per year. The company expects to switch on commercial production before December this year,” Vikrant Singh, co-founder and CTO of BatX Energies, told pv magazine.
The company claims to have developed a “zero waste, zero emissions” technology to extract critical rare earth metals. It extracts lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese, from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries. All of these metals can be used in Li-ion cells.
BatX Energies works according to a hub-and-spoke model, under which it sources end-of-life lithium-ion cells from different locations in India and transports them safely for recycling at its facility. It will expand its footprint in India and international markets, with plans to source and process locally. It said it will invest up to $50 million over the next 24 months to set up recycling units in different parts of the world. The biomass produce will then be shipped to its India facility for battery material extraction.
“The cost of recycled material is far lower than mined material with greater environmental benefits. We are fortunate to have received a lot of interest from various countries for our economically viable solution and machinery, thus opening our routes for organic global expansion,” said Utkarsh Singh, co-founder and CEO of BatX Energies.
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