New Delhi: The powder left after old lithium-ion batteries are shredded will no longer leave India. A Directorate General of Foreign Trade notification dated November 10 changed the export policy for lithium-ion battery black mass from 'Free' to 'Prohibited', effective immediately.
The entry, ITC (HS) code 85491400, covers waste and scrap of primary cells, batteries and electric accumulators, plus spent cells and batteries, unsorted and free of lead, cadmium or mercury.
Black mass carries lithium along with cobalt, nickel, manganese, silicon, tin and graphite. India's domestic reserves of these minerals are thin and import dependence is heavy, which makes e-waste and discarded batteries an increasingly important secondary source.
The government's stated aim is to keep black mass generated in India recycled and refined in India. Fifty-seven recyclers are registered on the Central Pollution Control Board's battery waste EPR portal with a combined capacity of 5.17 lakh metric tonnes a year. Capacity specifically for processing black mass is estimated at only about 75,500 tonnes a year.
Shyamasis Das, a Fellow at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress, said blocking exports is in India's interest given the minerals involved. "Some industry players take the easier route, which is selling black mass in the international market instead of recovering the minerals," he said. "This black mass largely ends up in the hands of recyclers in China."
Das added that India must build domestic cell manufacturing capacity to close the loop. "Without that, the circular economy stays half-built," he said.
The ban follows two funding decisions: a Rs 2,814 crore scheme cleared by the Union Cabinet days ago for capital support to critical mineral processing, and a Rs 1,500 crore incentive scheme approved in September 2025 for recycling capacity. What the notification does not settle is whether India's 75,500-tonne black mass capacity can absorb the feedstock that used to be exported.