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India bans exports of lithium-ion battery black mass

KROV newsroom

11 Nov 2026, 5:39 pm IST1 min read

DiscussionThe story behind the news.

Painted battery cells beside a closed recycling container.

India has banned exports of lithium-ion battery black mass, a powder from discarded batteries and battery manufacturing waste that contains recoverable metals. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade changed the export status from free to prohibited in a November 10 notification, with immediate effect until further orders, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said through the Press Information Bureau on November 11.

The notification singles out black mass under trade code 85491400, which also covers other battery waste and scrap. The transition provisions in paragraph 1.05 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023, apply.

Black mass can yield lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese. The ministry said Indian recyclers had sometimes imported feedstock even as material produced in India was being exported. The government wants more of that material available to domestic recyclers and refiners. It says the restriction complements its ₹1,500 crore incentive scheme for critical mineral recycling.

Cover image is an AI-generated editorial illustration.

Sources and credits

Credit: India Ministry of Commerce and Industry via Press Information Bureau (PIB)

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