E-Waste and Batteries Scorecard, September 2026: Lithium Falls a Quarter, Black Mass Slips Every Week, and ₹21,000 Crore of Value Keeps Leaking Away
Battery recycling had a tough month on prices. Lithium carbonate futures in China fell about 25% in September, and payables for black mass, the powder recovered from old batteries, slipped week after week. Meanwhile official data shows how much value India's e-waste still loses. Here is the month in numbers, and where the opportunity sits.
Recykal Times Desk·30 Sept 2026·5 min read·3 sources
Share
Editorial image for “E-Waste and Batteries Scorecard, September 2026: Lithium Falls a Quarter, Black Mass Slips Every Week, and ₹21,000 Crore of Value Keeps Leaking Away”, illustrating nickel.
The headline battery story of September, a recycler looking to buy nickel mines, is in our Top 10 round-up. This scorecard tracks what happened to prices through the month and looks at a bigger question: how much of the value in India's e-waste the formal sector actually captures.
September in numbers
Indicator
Early September
End of September
Lithium carbonate futures, China (a tonne)
157,900 yuan (1 Sep)
119,100 yuan (30 Sep)
Nickel-cobalt (NMC) black mass payable
74% to 76.5% (7 to 11 Sep)
72.5% to 74% (28 to 30 Sep)
LFP black mass (yuan per 1% lithium)
6,350 to 6,700 (7 to 11 Sep)
5,750 to 6,200 (28 to 30 Sep)
LCO black mass payable
72% to 74.5% (7 to 11 Sep)
69.5% to 71.5% (28 to 30 Sep)
Nickel, LME cash (a tonne)
$16,350 (1 Sep)
$15,860 (30 Sep)
Nickel sulphate, China
Just above 30,000 yuan
Below 30,000 yuan
(Black mass payables are the percentage of the contained metal value that buyers pay. China market figures from a price reporting agency.)
A month of steady declines
In China, lithium carbonate futures ended September at 119,100 yuan a tonne, about 25% below the 157,900 yuan of 1 September. Black mass followed. Buyers paid less for every major type: nickel-cobalt (NMC) black mass, used in most electric car batteries; lithium iron phosphate (LFP), used in many buses, scooters and storage systems; and lithium cobalt oxide (LCO), from phone and laptop batteries. Nickel on the London Metal Exchange fell 3%, and cobalt sulphate prices in China also eased.
Recykal Times analysis: Black mass is priced as a share of the metal it contains. When metal prices fall and the payable share falls too, the value of a tonne of black mass drops twice. For LFP black mass, the price per unit of lithium fell by about 8% between the second and last weeks of September, on top of the fall in lithium itself. Recyclers who bought old batteries at early-September prices are carrying that loss. (Our estimate from the midpoints of the reported ranges: 6,525 to 5,975 yuan.)
Why India watches China. China is the biggest trading market for battery materials, so Indian recyclers who export or benchmark black mass watch its prices. In India, black mass moving between units counts as hazardous waste, and shipping it abroad needs clearance from the environment ministry.
The value India's e-waste still loses
A NITI Aayog event in May 2026 put the value of materials in India's e-waste at about ₹51,000 crore. About ₹30,600 crore of that is technically recoverable. The informal sector recovered about ₹6,545 crore and the formal sector about ₹2,805 crore, with about ₹21,250 crore lost to inefficient methods.
Recykal Times analysis: On those figures, the formal sector captures only about 9% of the recoverable value, and the informal sector about 21%. Roughly 70% is lost. For formal recyclers short of material, the biggest opportunity is not new technology. It is bringing more e-waste into plants that can recover it properly. (Our estimate: ₹2,805 crore and ₹6,545 crore as shares of ₹30,600 crore.)
A recycling figure worth a second look
In a Lok Sabha answer in March 2026, the environment ministry said India generated about 14.15 lakh tonnes of e-waste in FY 2025-26 and recycled about 9.79 lakh tonnes, about 69%. The same answer gave FY 2024-25 as about 13.97 lakh tonnes generated and 11.59 lakh tonnes recycled.
That would mean recycled tonnage fell even as generation rose. But the FY 2025-26 figures were given before the year ended, so they may not be complete. The full-year number, when published, will show whether formal recycling really slipped.
Building the next step
On 22 September, recycler Attero opened a research centre in Greater Noida, recognised by the government's Department of Scientific and Industrial Research until March 2029, to work on recovering more than 20 critical minerals, including rare earths, lithium, cobalt and nickel. Separately, the court case by several appliance makers challenging the minimum price for e-waste EPR certificates, set at ₹22 a kg, is still pending in the Delhi High Court.
What this means for you
Battery recyclers: Falling prices mean the price you pay for old batteries matters more than capacity. Shorten the time between buying scrap and selling black mass.
E-waste recyclers: The value leak is your market. Partnerships with collectors and repair shops can bring in material that now goes to informal dismantlers.
Kabadiwalas and collectors: Formal recyclers need more volume. Registered recyclers, and the aggregators who supply them, can offer steadier business with proper paperwork.
Brands and producers: EPR money spent on better collection targets the biggest gap in the chain.
October watchlist
Lithium prices: whether the slide steadies after China's October holidays.
Black mass payables: whether weekly declines continue.
Full-year e-waste data for FY 2025-26: whether recycled tonnage really fell.
The ₹22 a kg floor price case in the Delhi High Court.
The bottom line
September was a hard month for battery recycling prices, but the bigger story is the value India is still leaving on the table. With about 70% of recoverable e-waste value lost, the next gains will come from collection, not only from new plants.
Discussion
Be the first to comment.