The Indian Government has prohibited the export of lithium-ion battery black mass, a key intermediate material recovered during battery recycling, reversing its earlier policy that allowed shipments overseas.

In a notification dated November 10, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, amended the export policy for waste and scrap of primary cells, primary batteries and electric accumulators. The export policy for the category has been changed from 'Free' to 'Prohibited' with immediate effect.

The new amendment covers waste and scrap of primary cells, primary batteries and electric accumulators, as well as spent primary cells, spent primary batteries and spent electric accumulators that are unsorted and do not contain lead, cadmium or mercury. The category includes lithium-ion battery black mass.

The amendment has been made under the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992, and the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023.

The move effectively bars exporters from shipping the specified category of battery waste and scrap overseas under the existing classification. It marks a shift from the earlier 'Free' export regime, under which such material could be exported, subject to applicable regulations.

Black mass is a powder-like material recovered from used lithium-ion batteries through recycling processes. It contains valuable metals and minerals, including lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese, which can be recovered and processed for reuse in battery manufacturing.

The material is an important part of the battery recycling value chain, as recyclers process discarded batteries to recover metals that can be fed back into the supply chain.

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