EU and India Launch €15.2 Million EV Battery Recycling Initiative

The European Union (EU) and India launched a joint €15.2 million (around ₹169 crore) initiative on May 6, 2026, aimed at strengthening electric vehicle (EV) battery recycling and critical mineral recovery. The programme was introduced under the EU-India Trade and Technology Council (TTC) Working Group on Green and Clean Energy Technologies.

The initiative seeks to accelerate the transition toward a circular economy while reducing dependence on imported critical raw materials used in EV batteries. Funding will be jointly provided through the EU’s Horizon Europe programme and India’s Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI). Both sides also launched a coordinated call for proposals, with submissions open until September 15, 2026.

The programme will support the development of advanced recycling technologies, including high-efficiency material recovery systems, digitalised collection networks, and pilot-scale demonstration projects. A joint EU-India pilot line will also be established in India to help validate recycling technologies for industrial deployment.

Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, said the initiative marks an important step in strengthening EU-India cooperation in sustainable technologies. Officials noted that with India’s EV market expanding rapidly, building a strong domestic battery recycling ecosystem will be critical for securing materials such as lithium, cobalt, and graphite while supporting long-term environmental goals.

€15.2 million EU-India Horizon-Europe-plus-MHI-joint battery-recycling initiative under EU-India TTC combined with joint EU-India pilot line in India represents substantive bilateral cooperation architecture on circular-economy and critical-minerals-recovery. Bilateral technology-transfer at pilot scale enables India to build recycling capability without full independent R&D investment.

The lithium-cobalt-graphite-recovery focus is strategically important for both parties. Europe faces critical-minerals import-dependence; India faces the same challenge alongside a rapidly-growing EV market that will generate substantial end-of-life battery volume within the coming decade. Recycling infrastructure built early captures learning-curve advantages that late-arrival build-outs cannot.

For battery-recycling operators, EV manufacturers, financial institutions supporting circular-economy investment and their sustainability advisors, Cognitud's circular economy, supply chain and operations and market intelligence teams help clients evaluate EU-India-initiative-linked opportunities, structure long-term commercial arrangements aligned with critical-minerals recovery priorities, and prepare disclosures aligned with EU Battery Regulation, BRSR, ISSB and jurisdictional battery-recycling frameworks.