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The Ministry of Mines has declared Mumbai-based LICO Materials Private Limited eligible under the “Critical Mineral Recycling Promotion Incentive Scheme” launched as part of the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM). With this approval, the company will be able to recover lithium, nickel and cobalt from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries at its Karnataka facility. LICO has committed an investment of ₹240 crore and plans to develop an annual processing capacity of 10,000 tonnes.
LICO Materials was selected from hundreds of applicants by the Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development and Design Centre (JNARDDC), the government’s designated project management agency. Under the scheme, the company will receive a 20 per cent Capital Expenditure (CapEx) subsidy along with multi-year Operational Expenditure (OpEx) incentives linked to incremental commercial sales until FY 2030-31.
Under the NCMM scheme, only companies engaged in chemical extraction of critical minerals are eligible. Firms involved solely in battery collection, dismantling or shredding do not qualify. LICO’s selection was based on its technical expertise in battery chemistry and hydrometallurgy.
LICO Materials CEO Gaurav Dolwani said the recognition validates the company’s efforts to build critical recycling infrastructure in India. He stated that the company is not only recycling batteries but also producing battery-grade lithium, nickel and cobalt from Indian waste batteries for domestic cell and battery manufacturers.
The Karnataka project is being developed as a brownfield expansion based on the company’s existing 25,000 tonnes per annum mechanical processing capacity. The hydrometallurgical expansion will include two facilities in KIADB, Karnataka one for mechanical shredding and classification of battery packs and another for critical mineral extraction.
The company aims to achieve 99 per cent battery-grade purity for recovered lithium, nickel and cobalt across LFP, LCO and NMC cell chemistries. Backed by a national outlay of ₹1,500 crore, the NCMM aims to increase India’s recycling capacity from around 1 lakh tonnes per annum to 4 lakh tonnes annually by 2030. At present, India remains heavily dependent on East Asia for battery critical minerals, where a large share of global lithium, cobalt and graphite processing is concentrated.
Founded in 2021, LICO Materials operates an end-of-life lithium-ion battery recycling and refurbishing facility in Bengaluru with an annual input capacity of 4 GWh.
