Commercial Battery Recycling Market – Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast Segmented By Chemistry (Lead, Nickel, Cobalt, Lithium, and other Metals), By Battery Type (Lead-Acid Batteries, Nickel-Cadmium Batteries, Nickel Metal Hydride Batteries, and Lithium-Ion Batteries), By Region, Competition 2021-2031F

Forecast Period	2027-2031
Market Size (2025)	USD 3.43 Billion
CAGR (2026-2031)	5.24%
Fastest Growing Segment	Lead
Largest Market	Asia Pacific
Market Size (2031)	USD 4.66 Billion

Market Overview

The Global Commercial Battery Recycling Market will grow from USD 3.43 Billion in 2025 to USD 4.66 Billion by 2031 at a 5.24% CAGR. The Global Commercial Battery Recycling Market involves the collection, dismantling, and processing of end-of-life batteries, primarily from electric vehicles and stationary energy storage systems, to recover critical materials such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel. The primary drivers propelling this market include stringent government mandates regarding waste management and the intensifying necessity to secure a domestic supply of critical minerals. According to the International Energy Agency, in 2024, global battery recycling capacity exceeded 300 gigawatt-hours annually, reflecting the industry's rapid response to these regulatory and economic imperatives.

Nevertheless, the market encounters a significant challenge regarding the complex logistics and safety risks associated with transporting heavy, high-voltage battery packs. The specialized infrastructure required to safely collect and transport these hazardous materials from diverse sources to centralized recycling hubs incurs substantial operational costs and regulatory burdens. Consequently, establishing efficient reverse logistics networks remains a critical hurdle that could impede the industry's ability to fully utilize expanding capacities.

Key Market Drivers

Accelerating global adoption of electric vehicles is the primary catalyst generating feedstock for the Global Commercial Battery Recycling Market. As the transition from internal combustion engines gains momentum, the volume of batteries reaching end-of-life status is projected to grow exponentially, necessitating robust industrial-scale processing capabilities. This surge in electric mobility directly dictates the capacity requirements for recyclers, who must prepare for the influx of spent lithium-ion packs. According to the International Energy Agency, April 2024, in the 'Global EV Outlook 2024', global sales of electric cars reached nearly 14 million in 2023, representing a 35% year-on-year increase. This rapid proliferation ensures a predictable and expanding material stream, compelling the industry to scale operations to accommodate future throughput.

Concurrently, the strategic push for raw material supply chain sovereignty is fundamentally reshaping market dynamics by treating recycling as a national security priority. Governments are aggressively financing domestic infrastructure to mitigate reliance on foreign mineral extraction and processing, aiming to close the loop on critical materials like lithium and cobalt within their borders. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, September 2024, in the 'Biden-Harris Administration Announces More Than $3 Billion to Boost Domestic Battery Supply Chain', the agency awarded over $3 billion to 25 projects aimed at expanding domestic battery production and recycling capabilities. This geopolitical pressure is driving substantial capital into the sector, further evidenced by major financial commitments in Europe; according to the European Investment Bank, in January 2024, the institution committed approximately $1.03 billion in project financing to Northvolt for the expansion of its gigafactory and recycling facilities.

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Key Market Challenges

The complex logistics and safety risks associated with transporting heavy, high-voltage battery packs constitute a formidable barrier to the growth of the Global Commercial Battery Recycling Market. End-of-life batteries, particularly from electric vehicles, are classified as Class 9 hazardous goods due to their thermal runaway potential and high voltage. Consequently, shipping these units requires specialized, fire-resistant packaging, distinct labeling, and transport by certified carriers trained in hazardous material handling. This necessity dramatically inflates operational expenditures (OPEX) compared to standard freight. Furthermore, the geographical disparity between the widely dispersed sources of spent batteries—ranging from individual dealerships to scrapyards—and the centralized recycling hubs creates a fragmented reverse supply chain. This fragmentation prevents the economies of scale necessary to lower collection costs, thereby tightening profit margins for recyclers.

These logistical inefficiencies directly impede the industry's ability to secure a consistent feedstock for its expanding processing facilities. When transportation costs exceed the value of the recoverable critical minerals, the economic incentive to collect and recycle these batteries diminishes, potentially leaving them stranded outside the recycling loop. This bottleneck is intensifying as the volume of batteries entering the market surges. According to the International Energy Agency, in 2024, global battery demand for electric vehicle and storage applications rose to nearly 1 terawatt-hour. This massive influx of heavy, hazardous material underscores the escalating scale of the reverse logistics burden, which, without a streamlined infrastructure, threatens to cap the effective utilization of the market's recycling capacity.

Key Market Trends

Strategic Industry Consolidation Through Mergers and Acquisitions is reshaping the market as financial pressures drive the absorption of specialized recyclers by larger commodity entities. This trend addresses the capital-intensive nature of scaling infrastructure by integrating distressed recycling assets into the portfolios of established mining and trading conglomerates, thereby securing direct access to secondary raw materials. Illustrating this significant restructuring, Glencore solidified its position in the sector by acquiring Li-Cycle's assets. According to Waste Dive, August 2025, in the 'Glencore completes takeover of Li-Cycle battery recycling assets' article, the company completed the transaction with a $40 million bid, effectively taking control of the recycler's North American processing capabilities.

Concurrently, the industry is executing a Shift Toward Hub-and-Spoke Collection and Processing Models to optimize reverse logistics and enhance material recovery rates. By decentralizing the mechanical shredding of hazardous battery packs into inert black mass at local facilities, companies can significantly reduce transportation safety risks before shipping the material to centralized hubs for final hydrometallurgical refining. This operational evolution was demonstrated when BASF inaugurated a major facility dedicated to this value chain. According to Battery-News, June 2025, in the 'BASF Launches Battery Recycling Plant in Schwarzheide' report, the new site began operations with an annual capacity of 15,000 tonnes of end-of-life batteries and production scrap, intended to feed downstream chemical recovery processes.

Segmental Insights

The Lead segment is currently identified as the fastest-growing category within the Global Commercial Battery Recycling Market, primarily driven by the expanding reliance on lead-acid batteries for critical commercial applications such as Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) and telecommunications infrastructure. This growth is underpinned by a highly mature, closed-loop recycling ecosystem that allows for near-total material recovery, offering superior economic viability compared to newer battery chemistries. Furthermore, stringent mandates from environmental regulatory bodies worldwide continue to enforce rigorous disposal standards, thereby accelerating the rapid expansion of the Lead segment in the commercial sector.

Regional Insights

Asia Pacific leads the Global Commercial Battery Recycling Market, driven by the substantial production and usage of electric vehicles across the region. This dominance is supported by comprehensive regulatory frameworks, such as the guidelines issued by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which mandate strict battery traceability and recycling responsibilities for manufacturers. These measures ensure a consistent supply of spent batteries for processing facilities. Consequently, the strong integration between local battery production and waste management sectors allows the region to maintain a competitive advantage in material recovery and reuse.

Recent Developments

• In September 2025, American Battery Technology Company and Call2Recycle launched a strategic partnership to advance consumer lithium-ion battery recycling across the United States. This collaboration expanded the company’s business model beyond business-to-business operations to include a direct-to-consumer channel, thereby establishing a more robust circular economy for essential battery metals. Under the agreement, batteries collected through the partner’s extensive network of drop-off locations were transported to advanced facilities for processing. The initiative utilized a closed-loop system designed to recover critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese with high efficiency, directly addressing the need to retain valuable materials within the domestic supply chain.
• In January 2025, Li-Cycle Holdings Corp. entered into an exclusive recycling agreement with a leading high-performance luxury automotive original equipment manufacturer. This strategic partnership focused on the supply of lithium-ion battery manufacturing scrap to the recycling company’s facility in Germany. The collaboration was established to secure a high-quality source of recycling feedstock, further validating the company's proprietary technology for sustainable and efficient material processing. By recycling these materials locally, the companies aimed to support a domestic closed-loop supply chain. This deal underscored the growing importance of efficient scrap management in the European electric vehicle manufacturing sector and strengthened the commercial position of the recycling firm.
• In September 2024, BMW of North America and Redwood Materials announced a strategic partnership to recycle lithium-ion batteries from electric, plug-in hybrid, and mild hybrid vehicles across the United States. Through this collaboration, the recycling company utilized the automotive group's extensive network of approximately 700 locations, including dealerships and distribution centers, to recover end-of-life batteries. The initiative aimed to reclaim critical minerals like nickel, cobalt, lithium, and copper, returning roughly 95% to 98% of these materials to the supply chain. This agreement represented a major step toward creating a closed-loop circular value chain for battery materials within the region, significantly reducing the environmental impact compared to traditional mining.
• In April 2024, BASF successfully commenced operations at its prototype metal refinery for battery recycling located in Schwarzheide, Germany. This state-of-the-art facility marked a significant milestone in the company’s efforts to establish a closed-loop value chain for battery materials in Europe. The plant was designed to optimize innovative recycling technologies, processing end-of-life lithium-ion batteries and production scrap to recover valuable metals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and copper. This development was intended to facilitate the refinement of operational procedures required for scaling up to commercial-level metal recovery, thereby supporting the sustainable supply of critical raw materials for the electric vehicle market.

Key Market Players

• Umicore
• Li-Cycle
• Redwood Materials
• Glencore
• Exide Industries
• Ecobat Technologies
• Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd.
• Fortum Oyj
• Veolia Environnement S.A
• Johnson Controls International plc

By Chemistry	By Battery Type	By Region
Lead Nickel Cobalt Lithium and other Metals	Lead-Acid Batteries Nickel-Cadmium Batteries Nickel Metal Hydride Batteries and Lithium-Ion Batteries	North America Europe Asia Pacific South America Middle East & Africa

Report Scope:

In this report, the Global Commercial Battery Recycling Market has been segmented into the following categories, in addition to the industry trends which have also been detailed below:

• Commercial Battery Recycling Market, By Chemistry:

• Lead
• Nickel
• Cobalt
• Lithium
• and other Metals

• Commercial Battery Recycling Market, By Battery Type:

• Lead-Acid Batteries
• Nickel-Cadmium Batteries
• Nickel Metal Hydride Batteries
• and Lithium-Ion Batteries

• Commercial Battery Recycling Market, By Region:

• North America
• United States
• Canada
• Mexico
• Europe
• France
• United Kingdom
• Italy
• Germany
• Spain
• Asia Pacific
• China
• India
• Japan
• Australia
• South Korea
• South America
• Brazil
• Argentina
• Colombia
• Middle East & Africa
• South Africa
• Saudi Arabia
• UAE