Minimines Aims to Enhance Lithium Battery Recycling Technology and Reduce India's Import Dependency

Established in 2020, Minimines company claims to have a more cost-effective and sustainable battery recycling process for extracting lithium and other precious metals compared to its competitors. This startup aims to make electric vehicles more affordable in India by improving lithium extraction efficiency.

While electric vehicles (EVs) offer long-term savings by reducing expenses on gasoline or diesel, the benefits only become apparent after several years. For most consumers, the long wait does not justify the higher price tag of electric vehicles, which can be 1.2 to 2.5 times more expensive than internal combustion engine vehicles. Based in Bangalore, clean technology startup Minimines suggests it has a solution that could lower the price of electric vehicles. The culprit behind the initial high costs of electric vehicles is the battery pack, particularly lithium-ion batteries that India currently imports from countries like China and South Korea. In fact, battery costs account for 40% of the total cost of electric vehicles, according to industry estimates.

Sudhendu Sinha, Advisor for Infrastructure Connectivity, Transport, and Electric Vehicles at NITI Aayog, stated in a recent interview that in order to reduce the cost of electric vehicles, India must produce its own lithium-ion batteries. Given the lack of substantial lithium reserves compared to China or South Korea, the easiest way for India to manufacture its own lithium-ion batteries is by recycling existing, defunct batteries and other electronic devices containing metals. Currently, most manufacturers handle their electronic waste, including batteries and battery components, through incineration.

Traditional extraction methods like pyrometallurgy and carbon thermal treatment often fail to fully extract metals during the few times the waste reaches a recycling center (resulting in mercury alloys or mixed elements instead of pure elements) while also generating significant carbon dioxide emissions.

Minimines claims to have developed a more efficient and environmentally friendly process for extracting and recovering lithium and other precious metals from batteries and other industrial by-products. Founded by Anupam Kumar and Arvind Bhardwaj in 2021, the startup asserts that their proprietary hybrid wet-metallurgy process achieves a purity of nearly 96% and enables the extraction of elements such as lithium and precious metals. Importantly, the process does not generate any water, residues, or CO2 waste or emissions, ensuring environmental sustainability throughout.

"India generates nearly 70,000 tons of lithium-ion waste annually...from smartphones to laptops and wireless earphones, lithium-ion batteries are ubiquitous in most of our discarded modern gadgets," said Kumar in an interview. "While we spend a lot of money importing lithium batteries for our electric vehicles, unfortunately, a significant amount of valuable and recyclable lithium-ion waste is being dumped in landfills or incinerated."

He added, "Our idea is that if we can recover all this discarded lithium-ion and other precious metals, we can not only help India become more self-reliant but also reduce costs associated with the batteries used in electric vehicles." Minimines' proprietary extraction technology has been validated by NITI Aayog. Its pilot unit has been audited and certified by Oil India Ltd and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), with Oil India Ltd providing a $500,000 grant. Minimines' hybrid wet metallurgy involves three key processes to produce 96% purity lithium and other metals: Extraction: extracting metals or components containing metals from batteries or smartphones and preparing them for the next step.

Separation: utilizing the principle of solubility variation of metal salts at different temperatures, pressures, and pH values to separate and extract lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese. The solvent used is water, which is reused in each repetition, thereby reducing wastewater waste. Beneficiation: involving a series of purification processes such as crushing, grinding, screening, washing, flotation, and other methods aimed at concentrating valuable elements. "No liquid or solid waste or emissions are generated during or at the end of the process. We use water as the solvent, which we reuse," said Kumar. After extraction, these metals are not only sold to electric vehicle battery manufacturers but also used in industries such as oil refining, pharmaceuticals, catalyst manufacturing, and metallurgy.

The company stated that funding from Oil India Ltd, the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) of the Indian government, and other agencies has helped Minimines transition from a pilot unit to a commercial-scale facility. The next step is to raise funds to establish a comprehensive facility.

Competing against companies like Batx Energy, Lohum, and Metastable Materials, Minimines has identified several revenue sources for its business: Commodity sales, which refer to the sale of extracted elements from the recycling process. Licensing/franchise fees, including licensing its proprietary technology to different geographical regions and companies so that they can establish their extraction plants. Sale of carbon credits: As Minimines' hybrid wet metallurgy process is a pollution-free process, it qualifies for Certified Emission Reduction (CER) units, which can be sold to other industrial institutions.

Kumar stated that the company spends $4,000 on extracting precious metals, and in return, it recovers metals worth $8,820. The startup aims to collaborate with manufacturers and producers to help them fulfill their Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for batteries, which includes taking responsibility for the entire lifecycle of the product, including appropriate disposal and recycling after its use. According to MarketsAndMarkets estimates, the value of the lithium-ion battery market is projected to reach $135.1 billion by 2031, with a compound annual growth rate of 13.1% compared to $48.6 billion in 2023. As the world moves towards more sustainable ways of generating and distributing power, lithium-ion batteries will become crucial not only in the electric vehicle sector but also in the energy storage sector.