Commercial Battery Recycling Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2021-2031

The Global Commercial Battery Recycling Market is projected to expand from a valuation of USD 3.43 Billion in 2025 to USD 4.66 Billion by 2031, registering a compound annual growth rate of 5.24%. This industry focuses on the collection, disassembly, and processing of spent batteries, largely derived from electric vehicles and stationary energy storage units, to reclaim essential materials like nickel, cobalt, and lithium. Key forces driving this market include rigorous government regulations on waste management and an increasing urgency to establish domestic supplies of critical minerals. As reported by the International Energy Agency in 2024, the global capacity for battery recycling surpassed 300 gigawatt-hours annually, demonstrating the sector's swift adaptation to these economic and regulatory demands.

However, the industry faces substantial hurdles related to the intricate logistics and safety hazards involved in moving high-voltage, heavy battery packs. Developing the specialized infrastructure needed to securely transport these hazardous items from scattered sources to central processing hubs results in significant operational costs and regulatory complexities. Consequently, creating efficient reverse logistics networks remains a major barrier that threatens to hinder the industry's ability to fully exploit its growing recycling capacities.

Market Drivers

The rapid global adoption of electric vehicles acts as the primary engine providing feedstock for the Global Commercial Battery Recycling Market. As the shift away from internal combustion engines accelerates, the quantity of batteries reaching the end of their lifecycle is expected to increase dramatically, requiring robust industrial-scale processing solutions. This surge in electric mobility dictates capacity needs for recyclers preparing for the wave of used lithium-ion packs; according to the International Energy Agency's 'Global EV Outlook 2024' from April 2024, electric car sales hit nearly 14 million in 2023, a 35% annual rise. This swift proliferation guarantees a growing material stream, compelling the industry to scale operations for future throughput.

Simultaneously, the push for sovereignty over raw material supply chains is redefining market dynamics by treating recycling as a matter of national security. Governments are aggressively funding local infrastructure to reduce reliance on foreign mineral extraction, aiming to circularize the supply of critical materials like lithium and cobalt within their borders. For instance, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded over $3 billion to 25 domestic battery and recycling projects in September 2024. Similar geopolitical momentum is evident in Europe, where the European Investment Bank committed approximately $1.03 billion in January 2024 to Northvolt for the expansion of its gigafactory and recycling facilities.

Market Challenges

The complex logistics and safety risks associated with transporting heavy, high-voltage battery packs present a formidable obstacle to the growth of the Global Commercial Battery Recycling Market. End-of-life batteries, especially from electric vehicles, are categorized as Class 9 hazardous goods due to their potential for thermal runaway and high voltage. Shipping these units necessitates specialized fire-resistant packaging, specific labeling, and transport by certified carriers, all of which drive operational expenses far higher than standard freight. Furthermore, the geographic dispersal of spent battery sources - ranging from individual dealerships to scrapyards - versus centralized recycling hubs creates a fragmented reverse supply chain that prevents the economies of scale needed to lower collection costs.

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 recycle diminishes, potentially leaving batteries stranded outside the recycling loop. This bottleneck is intensifying as battery volumes surge; the International Energy Agency noted in 2024 that global battery demand for EVs and storage neared 1 terawatt-hour. This massive influx of heavy, hazardous material highlights the escalating scale of the reverse logistics burden, which threatens to cap the effective utilization of the market's recycling capacity without streamlined infrastructure.

Market Trends

Strategic industry consolidation through mergers and acquisitions is reshaping the market, as financial pressures drive larger commodity entities to absorb specialized recyclers. This trend addresses the capital-intensive requirements of scaling infrastructure by integrating distressed recycling assets into the portfolios of established mining and trading conglomerates, thereby ensuring direct access to secondary raw materials. A prime example of this restructuring occurred when Glencore solidified its position in the sector by acquiring Li-Cycle's assets; as reported by Waste Dive in August 2025, Glencore completed the takeover with a $40 million bid, effectively securing control over the recycler's North American processing capabilities.

concurrently, the industry is shifting toward hub-and-spoke collection and processing models to optimize reverse logistics and improve 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 in June 2025, the new Schwarzheide site began operations with an annual capacity of 15,000 tonnes of end-of-life batteries and scrap, intended to feed downstream chemical recovery processes.

Key Players Profiled in the Commercial Battery Recycling Market

• 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

Report Scope

In this report, the Global Commercial Battery Recycling Market has been segmented into the following categories:

Commercial Battery Recycling Market, by Chemistry:

• Lead
• Nickel
• Cobalt
• Lithium
• other Metals

Commercial Battery Recycling Market, by Battery Type:

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

Commercial Battery Recycling Market, by Region:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• South America
• Middle East & Africa

Competitive Landscape

Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the Global Commercial Battery Recycling Market.

Available Customization

The analyst offers customization according to your specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:

• Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to five).

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