This Company Recycles Most Of India's 50,000 Tons Of Toxic Battery Waste Per Year

An Indian company is attempting to limit toxic waste by recycling lithium-ion batteries. When the life-cycle of any device ends, lithium-ion batteries used in those devices are considered hazardous waste material if not recycled.

India's Attero Recycling has taken up the task to recycle these batteries before they end up as pollutants. Founded by Nitin and Rohan Gupta, Attero was conceptualised in 2007 when "Rohan was searching for an electronic waste (e-waste) recycler to dispose of his old laptop," CEO & co-founder Nitin Gupta told us. In the absence of options, Guptas decided to take matters in their hands, ushering the birth of Attero Recycling.

"The amount of energy involved to extract one gram of any metal using Attero¡¯s recycling process is significantly lower than the amount of enegry required in extracting the same metal from either a virgin mine or from any other secondary source of that material," Nitin Gupta told us over e-mail.

Nitin Gupta, CEO of Attero

Why lithium-ion batteries are widespread

Touted as India's largest electronic asset management company, Attero is also the only company in the world get carbon credits per tonne of electronic waste recycled in tune with United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Globally, $100 billion has been invested in lithium-ion batteries because they are quite simply superior. Developers prefer lithium-ion batteries because they offer longer run times with no decline in performance as the battery discharges. On top of that, lithium-ion batteries offer dense energy storage and increased efficiency, along with fastest charging time.

Also read: Chile's Rewriting Its Constitution For Lithium Batteries & Climate Change: Here's How

Unfortunately, about 30% of lithium-ion batteries are dependent on material like cobalt and lithium that pose social and environmental challenges because of the way these are mined.

In India alone, over 50,000 tonnes of li-ion battery waste is produced each year, Gupta told us while explaining how the company is in the process of "ramping up its capacity by 11X to 11,000 metric tonnes/annum by October 2022." Attero has other ambitious goals through a "franchise route" wherein e-waste capacity will be significantly improved by expanded presence in 14 locations by the end of this year. "These plants will be strategically located across the country and will enable Attero to enhance its E-Waste management capacity to 3,00,000 metric tonnes/year."

Manual extraction at Attero plant

What is Attero doing differently?

Attero's "CLEAN e-INDIA" initiative is marrying think tanks, state authorities, and the informal sector to reduce e-waste. An "integrated e-waste consumer take-Back program," CLEAN e-INDIA is streamlining the recycling process by ensuring "organised collection" by connecting "stakeholders across the value chain including individuals, waste pickers, and aggregators."

In light of the mammoth waste generated by electronic devices, most big companies like Apple and Samsung urge users to return their devices to the company that may be later recycled and reused in their future devices. Turns out, there's a large possibility that they make their way to Attero Recycling.

"A user can choose any of the formal methods including giving back to the company they bought it from. However, not all manufacturers have a provision to take back the devices that they make. Even if they do, there is a big chance that these devices would end up coming back to Attero Recycling as almost all consumer electronics companies are our clients," Nitin Gupta told Indiatimes.

Smelting at Attero plant

The right answer is always recycling

According to Attero's calculations, about 30% of value for li-ion batteries emanates "from the metals that make them." Gupta believes India's true dream of self-dependence can be realised by recycling batters for the country "doesn't have reserves of cobalt or lithium."

In the face of growing interest in electric vehicles, India could see its EV revolution soon. In light of this inevitable reality, "li-Ion battery waste is expected to grow by 40-80% year-on-year."

"In the bid to help India manage the growing Li-Ion battery waste and transition from a linear to a circular economy, Attero Recycling has partnered with various Automobile and Electronic OEMS for collection of ends of the life Li-Ion batteries and recycling them in a sustainable manner," Gupta told us.

Attero's facility in Roorkee

What about li-ion alternatives?

As Gupta rightly told us, scientists across the globe are currently working overtime to find alternatives to lithium ion batteries. "A promising class of batteries based on sodium and potassium ions offer new options, especially for uses that don¡¯t require maximum energy and power. Apart from this, there are also calcium and hydrogen-based batteries, plastic li-ion batteries, and graphene aluminium-ion batteries." Unfortunately, there are multiple safety and longevity issues with other batteries that restrict their commercial adoption.

Also read: Engineers Produce World¡¯s First Cobalt-Free Batteries: Why It's Good For Earth

With a whopping $100 billion investment in the li-ion ecosystem, the batteries have "ubiquitous, whether it's consumer electronics products like cell phones, laptops or stationary storage, which includes telecom towers, solar storage, etc. and now even electric vehicles be it two-wheelers, three-wheelers, four-wheelers, or even buses and trucks."

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Attero claims to recycle 30 gm of batteries that originate from phones and up to 750 kg hailing from electric buses and "everything in between." Nitin Gupta, CEO and Co-Founder of Attero says that the company has saved over 100,000 metric tonnes of carbon by recycling lithium-ion batteries.

In addition, Attero offers a 360-degree countrywide pick up of electronic assets like smartphones to enable holistic recycling practices. In order to expand Attero's reach, the company is also collaborating with automobile industry players to reduce carbon footprint nationwide.

Do you think recycling your devices should be made easier? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com.