Deep-tech startup Metastable Materials extracts aluminium from lithium-ion batteries without chemicals

Deep-tech recycling business Metastable Materials, which specialises in lithium-ion batteries, has received seed funding led by Surge, Sequoia Capital India, and Southeast Asia's quick scale-up programme. Deep-tech VC Speciale Invest, Theia Ventures, and other angel investors participated.

Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are used in millions of automobiles worldwide, and demand is growing fast daily. So, the US$4.6 billion Li-ion battery recycling market is anticipated to increase at least five times by 2030 as businesses look for an appropriate approach to manage Li-ion batteries that have reached the end of their useful lives.

Additionally, many countries, including the EU, want to enact legislation to ensure that batteries can be recycled or reused after their useful lives.

However, current recycling methods to extract and reuse metals from end-of-life Li-ion batteries are plagued by a myriad of challenges. This includes the logistical challenges of transporting large Li-ion batteries to recycling facilities, which can be costly due to Lithium’s highly flammable nature and strict regulations around packaging. 

In order to address these problems head-on, Metastable created the first chemical-free Integrated Carbothermal Reduction^TM process for recycling and recovering important components from Li-ion batteries, including aluminium, copper, cobalt, nickel, and lithium.

Compared to traditional battery recycling methods, the technique dramatically lowers capital and operating costs and achieves a recovery rate of over 90 per cent.

Shubham Vishvakarma, the Founder of Metastable Materials, said, "Natural resources are finite, and our collective vision of a more sustainable future will depend on our ability first to recycle and second, to do so in a way that is cost-efficient, scalable and environmentally friendly. We're proud to be pioneering a solution that safeguards our future, from providing a sustainable supply of metals for the manufacture of EV batteries to setting new benchmarks for the way metals are recycled, paving the way for new technologies and innovations that will have the power to truly move the needle in fighting climate change."