US Battery Recycling

U.S. battery recyclers recover lithium, cobalt and nickel from end-of-life batteries

U.S. battery recyclers are scaling up to recover lithium, cobalt and nickel from end-of-life batteries, building a domestic supply of critical minerals for electric vehicles and grid storage.

Recycled lithium carbonate reaches the market

At a battery recycling facility in Covington, Georgia, workers grind spent batteries into a fine, dark powder known in the industry as black mass. In the past, that powder was shipped overseas to refineries that extracted the cobalt and nickel inside. Today the facility processes the black mass on site to produce lithium carbonate, a critical ingredient for manufacturing new batteries.

The plant, owned by Massachusetts-based Ascend Elements, is the first new lithium carbonate producer in the United States in years and the only source of recycled lithium carbonate in North America. Finalizing upgrades at Covington will lift capacity to as much as 3,000 metric tons per year. Until now, the only other domestic source of lithium carbonate was a small mine in Silver Peak, Nevada.

Why battery recycling matters

Moving away from fossil fuels requires far more high-capacity batteries for electric vehicles and for storing renewable energy when the wind is not blowing and the sun is not shining. That need is already driving demand for the metals inside batteries higher. Recycling end-of-life batteries from electric cars, e-bikes and mobile devices supplies these metals while reducing the need for new mining.

Battery recycling is already practiced at scale in China, where most of the world’s lithium-ion battery manufacturing takes place and where recyclers benefit from supportive policy and a steady stream of manufacturing scrap. North American recyclers are now building the domestic capacity to match.

Government support drives expansion

U.S. battery recyclers announced major expansion plans backed by federal financing and manufacturing incentives. The Department of Energy has awarded substantial funding to onshore the industry, including a $316 million grant to Ascend Elements for a second plant in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, a $144 million contract to American Battery Technology Company in Reno, Nevada, and a $200 million grant to Cirba Solutions for a new facility in Columbia, South Carolina, plus a $75 million grant to expand its Lancaster, Ohio processing plant.

The industry also benefits from the 45X advanced manufacturing production credit, which subsidizes domestic production of critical minerals, including those recovered from recycled materials. Recyclers describe the incentive as having a direct, bottom-line impact.

Market outlook

Battery recyclers still face uncertainty from fast-changing tariff policy and the possibility that existing tax credits could be reduced. But critical minerals are widely treated as a national priority, and recyclers see their role in securing the metal supply chain as central to a resilient domestic energy economy.