January 31, 2026: Indian lead battery recycling giant Gravita has launched its first lithium recycling plant — converting EV batteries into black mass — in the country with an investment cost of around Rs14 crore ($1.6 million).

Gravita announced on January 23 the newly-commissioned facility in Mundra, Gujurat — already home to one of the firm’s lead recycling plants — has a processing capacity of 6,000 million tonnes annually.

The move comes three years after Batteries International revealed the company was in talks with tech partners to start a pilot lithium recycling unit at Mundra.

Gravita did not reference any external tech support in relation to the launch of the new plant and Batteries International has asked for confirmation.

However, the company has said the new facility deploys latest technology to improve the efficiency and scalability of the recycling process, “ensuring that toxic chemicals and waste are minimized”.

The venture into processing lithium ion batteries aims to position Gravita as a key regional player in recycling batteries from electric vehicles and energy storage systems to recover and reuse materials and reduce dependency on mining for raw materials.

Gravita said it now plans to expand the scope of its recycling operations and collaborate with leading players in the EV and renewable energy sectors to boost its recycling capabilities.

Last July, Gravita said it planned to build a new lead recycling plant in the country — and said it was pressing ahead with another planned facility in the Caribbean, although details have yet to be released.