$63 million allocated to advance battery recycling in the USA

The fresh funds should enable state and local governments to expand battery recycling and modernize manufacturing with technologies like advanced sensors and modelling more accessible to small and medium-sized manufacturers.

The funds are to be administered by the DoE’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC), and applications are due Monday, September 16, 2024. Awards made as a result of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) will be funded, in whole or in part, with funds appropriated by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, more commonly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). 

The funds for battery recycling are aiming to increase the number of state and local programs to assist in the establishment or enhancement of state battery collection, recycling, and reprocessing programs. This is meant to lead to an increase in participation in recycling programs, as well as developing recycling programs for electronics and batteries that “can help immediately support a domestic battery supply chain”.

The increased focus on battery recycling comes at a time when the USA is trying to reduce dependence on raw materials from other countries, in particular from China, which has massively ramped up renewable energy production, energy storage and electric vehicle production over the past two decades and now dominates multiple battery materials supply chains globally. By reusing batteries for second-life applications – such as using EV batteries in stationary storage applications – and recycling batteries, raw materials are kept in perpetual use and value chains are maximized without the need for foreign supply.

The recycling industry in the USA is nascent but growing rapidly. Alone in June 2024, Princeton NuEnergy, a New Jersey-based specialist in lithium-ion battery direct recycling, recently announced the close of a Series A funding round with a strategic investment from Samsung Venture Investment Corporation. While Aepnus Technology accrued $8 million in seed financing to accelerate the production of its novel end-to-end sodium sulfate recycling technology.

The recycling and reuse of batteries is supported by the development of the international Battery Passport initiative. Also, in June 2024, the Global Battery Alliance (GBA) launched the second wave of its Battery Passport pilots, which includes 11 pilot consortia.