Understanding why recycling rates are low, where the value lies, and how the economics are shifting — in Australia and globally.
In 2025, approximately 5,000 tonnes of small handheld lithium batteries require recycling in Australia each year — yet only around 15% of this is currently being recycled. The cost to recycle lithium batteries through commercial streams ranges up to $20/kg, with most NCM and LFP chemistry batteries priced at $1–$8/kg.
The total Australian battery recycling market reached USD $359 million in 2025 and is projected to grow to USD $636 million by 2034 at a CAGR of 6.36% — driven by EV uptake, residential energy storage growth, and tightening regulation.
The volume of small lithium batteries requiring recycling in Australia in 2025 — with only ~15% currently being processed.
Total end-of-life battery volumes across all types in 2024. Projected to exceed 744,000 tonnes by 2050 as EV fleets mature.
The battery recycling sector's contribution to the Australian economy in 2025, including $760 million in direct benefits (ABRI, 2026).
Estimated additional economic value battery recycling could add to Australia's economy if domestic processing capacity is developed at scale.
Approximately 90,000 tonnes of lithium batteries are recycled annually in China, with processing plants operating at roughly 70% utilisation and paying the equivalent of AUD $1,506–$5,300 per tonne for lithium battery scrap. This reflects a fundamentally different economics — at scale, the recovered value of metals exceeds the cost of collection and processing.
In Australia, the economics are currently inverted for most streams: collection logistics, low volumes, and the lack of domestic hydrometallurgical processing mean costs outweigh recovered value. Most collected Australian material is exported as black mass and processed offshore, with the downstream value captured elsewhere.
Unit economics only work above certain volumes. China's industrial scale and collection infrastructure make processing cost-effective. Australia needs coordinated collection networks to replicate this.
Disassembly and cell-level testing before shredding recovers significantly more value than direct shredding — particularly for batteries still containing viable cells. This is the core of our model.
Australia's National Battery Strategy ($532m, 2024) is specifically designed to fund the domestic hydrometallurgical and mechanical processing capacity that would allow Australia to capture black mass value onshore.
Global reserves estimated at 28 million metric tonnes; demand is ~1.5Mt per year and growing rapidly with EV adoption.
High-value and supply-constrained. Recycled cobalt can require up to 96% less raw material input than mined cobalt (ABRI, 2026).
Key cathode materials in NMC chemistry batteries, both recoverable from black mass processing.
Used in battery anodes; China currently dominates global graphite supply, making recycled anode material strategically important.
Lead-acid batteries achieve approximately 99% recycling rates in Australia and comparable markets. This is not because of regulation alone — it is because the recovered lead has sufficient value to make the entire collection and processing chain economically self-sustaining. People are paid for scrap lead-acid batteries at service stations and auto shops nationwide.
Our goal is to move lithium battery recycling toward this model. By extracting maximum value from second-life cells before recycling, and by aggregating volumes that make downstream processing viable, we aim to make lithium battery scrap valuable enough in Australia that collection becomes self-funding — eventually eliminating disposal costs for businesses and individuals entirely.
Most businesses pay $1–$8/kg to recycle lithium batteries, with no return on the material value and minimal documentation of outcomes.
Viable cells are sold into second-life applications, offsetting processing costs and allowing us to offer free or discounted collection to QLD businesses.
As the National Battery Strategy investments mature and domestic black mass processing capacity grows, the economics improve for all players in the chain.
The lead-acid model — where scrap is purchased at collection points — is achievable for lithium batteries as volumes grow and material prices stabilise.
End-of-life lithium-ion batteries from EVs are forecast to more than double from over 16,000 units in 2024 to over 46,000 by 2030, and to exceed 600,000 by 2050. The cumulative material recycling potential for Australian end-of-life lithium batteries between 2025 and 2050 is estimated at 2,481–4,471 kilotonnes, with an estimated economic value of USD $23–44 billion.
Australia also exports lithium as a primary resource — yet currently imports lithium back in the form of battery cells. Domestic recycling closes this loop, supporting national energy security and critical minerals strategy alongside the economic benefits.