IIT Bombay ties up with Evergreen Lithium for critical mineral recovery from battery recycling

IIT Bombay has entered into a technology licensing agreement with Evergreen Lithium Recycling to advance battery recycling operations and extract critical minerals from battery reprocessing in India.

Indian Institute of Technology Bombay on Wednesday said it has entered into a technology licensing agreement with Evergreen Lithium Recycling to advance the extraction of critical minerals from battery reprocessing.

The agreement, signed on May 5, aims to advance the extraction of battery precursor-related critical minerals and enhance efficiency in battery recycling operations, IIT Bombay said in a statement.

This collaboration marks a significant step toward building scalable, technology-driven solutions in India's emerging circular economy.

The licensed technology is expected to deliver up to 30-40 per cent processing cost optimisation while improving overall process efficiency, strengthening capabilities in urban mining and resource recovery.

Prof Swatantra Pratap Singh, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, and his team developed this innovative technology.

''Waste-to-wealth technologies are becoming critical for India's sustainable future, resource security, and circular economy goals. Our research group is developing advanced membrane and electrochemical technologies to recover clean water, nutrients, lithium, rare-earth elements, acids and other critical minerals from wastewater and industrial waste streams,'' Prof Singh said.

He said that membranes are emerging as one of the most critical technologies enabling selective, energy-efficient and sustainable resource recovery.

''The laboratory's research focuses on converting waste into valuable resources while supporting India's priorities in clean energy, wastewater reuse, critical mineral security and moving towards Atmanirbhar Bharat,'' he added.