How battery metals are recovered from electronics
Batteries are taken out of a device before anything else happens to it, and they are recovered on their own. Lithium-ion cells are the main source of lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese and graphite; lead-acid and nickel-metal hydride batteries follow routes of their own.
This page describes industry and research processes in general. It does not describe ERI’s operations.
What a battery holds
What is inside a lithium-ion cell
A lithium-ion cell has an anode, a cathode and a separator, all in contact with an electrolyte that is usually a flammable liquid, sealed in a steel can or an aluminum and polymer pouch. Battery types are named for their cathode chemistry, such as lithium cobalt oxide, common in consumer electronics, or lithium iron phosphate. The mix varies by chemistry, but EPA lists the common materials as lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, graphite, iron, and copper and aluminum foils. These are the materials recycling aims to return to use.1
Why batteries are handled separately
Why batteries are kept out of the general waste stream
Lithium-ion batteries can pose a fire danger when they end up in household trash or curbside recycling, because municipal waste and recycling facilities are not designed to receive them. An EPA report found more than 240 fires caused by lithium-ion batteries at 64 waste facilities between 2013 and 2020, many traced to batteries from small consumer devices such as phones, tablets and laptops. The harms included injuries, service disruption, monetary losses and emergency response. This is why these batteries are directed to electronics recyclers and hazardous waste collection, where they are handled separately from other material.2
How lithium-ion batteries are recovered
Collecting and shredding (black mass)
There is no single path that every lithium-ion battery follows at the end of its life. In general, batteries are collected and large packs may be partly taken apart into modules or cells. A common next step is industrial shredding, after the batteries have been discharged or otherwise managed to prevent fires. Shredding produces several streams: copper and aluminum foils, separators and other plastics, steel cans, electrolyte, and black mass, a granular material made of the shredded cathodes and anodes. EPA notes there is no industry standard for black mass, so its makeup varies widely.1
Furnace and chemical routes (pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy)
Two main routes recover metals from lithium-ion batteries. Smelting, or pyrometallurgy, treats batteries in a high-temperature furnace. It yields metals and intermediate salts that can be refined, but the electrolyte and carbon anodes are burned as fuel or reductant, lithium and other remaining materials end up in the slag, and the process is energy-intensive. Chemical leaching, or hydrometallurgy, dissolves the cathode metals out of black mass with acids or other solutions, producing metal salts, including lithium compounds, that can become ingredients for new cathodes. Separating the different materials is often the hard part.3
Reusing the cathode material (direct recycling)
Commercial lithium-ion recycling has depended on revenue from cobalt, yet battery makers are reducing the cobalt in newer cathode chemistries, which weakens that economic case. The US Department of Energy set up a research center in 2019 to develop recycling that stays economical even for batteries with no cobalt. Its central idea is direct recycling: recovering the cathode material with its crystal structure intact, so that its value and performance are kept rather than broken down into separate metals. Other materials are recovered as well to add revenue and reduce disposal costs. The approach is still under development.4
Other battery chemistries
What nickel-metal hydride cells hold
Nickel-metal hydride cells carry nickel in both electrodes. The negative electrode is a hydrogen-storing alloy typically based on a blend of rare earths (lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium and neodymium) with nickel, cobalt and manganese, and the electrolyte is potassium hydroxide. One peer-reviewed study describes these cells as roughly 36 to 42 percent nickel, 3 to 5 percent cobalt and 5 to 25 percent rare earths. Smelting can turn them into nickel alloys such as ferronickel, but some metal is lost to slag, and cobalt and the rare metals are not as easily reused that way, so leaching-based routes are studied to recover them.5
Lead-acid batteries: the long-established example
Lead-acid batteries, the kind that start cars, trucks and motorcycles, are the long-standing example of a battery that is almost always recycled. EPA estimated that 2.9 million tons of these batteries entered the US municipal waste stream in 2018 and that the recycling rate for their lead and their polypropylene casings was 99 percent, with less than 1 percent landfilled. Recyclers also remove some of the electrolyte and other materials. EPA counts those as recovered too. Used lead-acid batteries are typically returned through battery retailers or local household hazardous waste programs rather than placed in the trash.6
Recycled batteries supply most US lead
Recycling is the main source of lead in the United States. The US Geological Survey estimates that about 1 million metric tons of secondary lead was produced in 2025, equal to 70 percent of apparent domestic consumption, and that nearly all of it came from old scrap, mostly lead-acid batteries. The same industry is also the main user: lead-acid batteries accounted for an estimated 67 percent of US apparent lead consumption in 2025, for vehicle starting batteries, standby power for computer and telecommunications networks, and motive power. The country has had no primary lead refinery since 2013.7
Why these materials matter
Battery materials on the US critical minerals list
Most of what a battery holds appears on the US list of critical minerals, which the US Geological Survey maintains and which identifies minerals judged important to the economy and national security. The final 2025 list, published in November 2025, names 60 minerals. It includes lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese and graphite from lithium-ion cathodes and anodes, the aluminum and copper used for the foils, and lead. Copper and lead were among the minerals newly added in 2025. Lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium and neodymium, the rare earths used in nickel-metal hydride alloys, are listed as well.8
Where each material sits
Lithium
The 8 devices here that hold lithium
| Device | Where the lithium sits | How much |
|---|---|---|
| Cordless drill | Cells of the battery pack | A real share |
| E-bike | Cells of the battery pack | A real share |
| Robot vacuum | Cells of the battery pack | A real share |
| Laptop | Cells of the battery | A real share |
| Smartwatch | Cell under the display | A trace |
| Wireless earbuds | Cells in the case and buds | A trace |
| Headphones | Cell in a wireless pair | A trace |
| Smartphone | Battery cathode and electrolyte | A trace |
Cobalt
The 8 devices here that hold cobalt
| Device | Where the cobalt sits | How much |
|---|---|---|
| Cordless drill | Cell cathodes, in many chemistries | A real share |
| E-bike | Cell cathodes, in many chemistries | A real share |
| Robot vacuum | Cell cathodes, in many chemistries | A real share |
| Headphones | Cathode of a wireless pair’s cell | A real share |
| Laptop | Cathodes of the four cells | A real share |
| Smartphone | Cathode of the battery | A real share |
| Smartwatch | Cathode of the small cell | A trace |
| Wireless earbuds | Cathodes of the three cells | A trace |
Nickel
The 4 devices here that hold nickel
| Device | Where the nickel sits | How much |
|---|---|---|
| Cordless drill | Cell cathodes and pack connecting strips | A real share |
| E-bike | Cathodes of the battery pack’s cells | A real share |
| Robot vacuum | Cathodes of the battery pack’s cells | A real share |
| Laptop | Cell cathodes, in many chemistries | A real share |
Manganese
The 4 devices here that hold manganese
| Device | Where the manganese sits | How much |
|---|---|---|
| Cordless drill | Cell cathodes, in many chemistries | A real share |
| E-bike | Cell cathodes, in many chemistries | A real share |
| Robot vacuum | Cell cathodes, in many chemistries | A real share |
| Laptop | Cell cathodes, in many chemistries | A real share |
Graphite
The 8 devices here that hold graphite
| Device | Where the graphite sits | How much |
|---|---|---|
| Cordless drill | Anodes of the pack’s cells | A real share |
| E-bike | Anodes of the battery pack’s cells | A real share |
| Robot vacuum | Anodes of the battery pack’s cells | A real share |
| Headphones | Anode of a wireless pair’s cell | A real share |
| Laptop | Anodes of the four cells | A real share |
| Smartphone | Anode of the battery | A real share |
| Smartwatch | Anode of the small cell | A trace |
| Wireless earbuds | Anodes of the three cells | A trace |
Which devices feed this stream
These are sorted for battery metals when they are recycled. Each page says what the device holds and where.
Sources
- Lithium-Ion Battery RecyclingUS Environmental Protection Agency
- The Importance of Sending Consumers' Used Lithium-ion Batteries to Electronic Recyclers or Hazardous Waste Collection FacilitiesUS Environmental Protection Agency, Sections "About Lithium-ion Batteries" and "About EPA's Report"
- Batteries for Electric VehiclesUS Department of Energy, Alternative Fuels Data Center, Section "Recycling Batteries", items on smelting (pyrometallurgy) and chemical leaching (hydrometallurgy)
- Direct Recycling R&D at the ReCell CenterUS Department of Energy, Office of Scientific and Technical Information (article by Gaines, Dai, Vaughey and Gillard, Recycling vol. 6 no. 2, 2021, doi:10.3390/recycling6020031), Abstract
- Processing and Characterization of Spent Nickel-Metal Hydride Type AA Batteries to Recover Valuable Materials (Cobalt, Nickel and Rare Earth Elements)Materials (MDPI), 2024, 17(19), 4908, open access CC BY 4.0, via PubMed Central (Iacob et al., doi:10.3390/ma17194908), Section 1, Introduction
- Durable Goods: Product-Specific DataUS Environmental Protection Agency, Section "Lead Acid Batteries" (2018 data; table source line lists Battery Council International among data sources). Return route: EPA, Used Household Batteries, section "Automotive Batteries", https://www.epa.gov/recycle/used-household-batteries
- Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: LeadUS Geological Survey, Page 1, "Domestic Production and Use" and "Recycling"
- About the 2025 List of Critical MineralsUS Geological Survey, Final 2025 list of 60 critical minerals (list table); addition of copper and lead also stated in Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Lead, page 2
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