ACE Green Recycling to Build India’s Largest Battery Recycling Plant in Gujarat

ACE Green Recycling, a US-based company, has signed a lease agreement to establish India’s largest battery recycling plant in Mundra, Gujarat. The new facility will expand on ACE’s existing Indian operations and is part of its strategic growth plans ahead of a proposed IPO through a merger with Athena Technology Acquisition Corp. II, a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

The Mundra plant will significantly enhance ACE’s capacity for recycling lithium-ion batteries, including lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. By 2026, the company aims to achieve an annual processing capacity of 10,000 tonnes of LFP batteries, addressing the increasing demand for sustainable battery recycling. Since 2023, ACE has been recycling lithium-ion batteries at its facilities in India.

The plant’s location in Mundra is strategically chosen for its proximity to major ports that handle over 10% of India’s maritime traffic, streamlining the transport of raw materials and products from the recycling process. The facility will employ ACE’s proprietary ‘LithiumFirst’ technology, a fully electrified hydrometallurgical process that operates at room temperature, producing no Scope 1 carbon emissions and no liquid or solid waste. The technology ensures a lithium recovery rate of approximately 75% from LFP batteries and produces lithium carbonate with over 99% purity, which is reintegrated into the battery materials supply chain.

“LFP is expected to dominate the lithium battery market by 2030, and ACE is strategically scaling our LFP battery recycling capacity to meet demand and support our growing customer base,” said Nishchay Chadha, CEO of ACE Green Recycling. “We believe our technology is more advanced than other recycling ecosystems, including those in China, despite their maturity and scale.”

In addition to LFP batteries, ACE plans to utilize its GreenLead recovery technology at the Mundra site to recycle lead-acid batteries, further diversifying its recycling capabilities. The plant’s development underscores ACE’s commitment to sustainability and its goal of leveraging its first-mover advantage in the battery recycling market.