India's EV Battery Recycling Emerges as $3.5B Green Industry Opportunity

India's rapid adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), with over 4.5 million sold in the past three years and projections to surpass 28 million by 2030, has created an urgent need for a comprehensive battery recycling infrastructure to manage millions of end-of-life batteries and recover valuable materials like lithium, cobalt, and nickel. Currently, India's battery recycling sector is fragmented and informal, with significant collection gaps and health risks, but efforts such as the Battery Waste Management Rules (2022) and Extended Producer Responsibility system are laying the groundwork for a formalized recycling economy that could generate up to $3.5 billion and create 41,000 jobs by 2030. The Vehicle Scrapping Policy, part of the Voluntary Vehicle Fleet Modernization Program, aims to phase out unfit vehicles, generate substantial economic benefits, and reduce fossil fuel dependency while improving road safety. Globally, the vehicle recycling market is expanding rapidly, projected to grow from $93.1 billion in 2024 to $254 billion by 2033, driven by industrialization, regulatory policies, and advances in recycling technologies including battery reuse. Complementing these efforts, innovations in recycling facilities, such as the new off-road mining tyre recycling plant in Western Australia, demonstrate scalable solutions to manage large-scale waste and promote sustainable resource recovery. Together, these developments signal a significant transition toward sustainable mobility and environmental conservation, emphasizing the need for integrated recycling systems to prevent ecological damage and capitalize on economic opportunities.