Mumbai: The Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) announced on Wednesday that it has signed a technology licensing pact with Evergreen Lithium Recycling, aimed at strengthening the recovery of critical minerals from spent batteries.
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According to a statement issued by the institute, the deal, formally signed on May 5, is designed to push forward the extraction of critical minerals linked to battery precursors while raising the efficiency of battery recycling operations. IIT Bombay described the tie-up as a meaningful move towards developing scalable, technology-led solutions for India's nascent circular economy.
The licensed process is projected to bring about 30 to 40 percent reduction in processing costs and lift overall process efficiency, in turn deepening the country's capabilities in urban mining and resource recovery.
The innovation has been developed by a research team led by Prof Swatantra Pratap Singh of the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering at the institute.
"Waste-to-wealth technologies are becoming critical for India's sustainable future, resource security, and circular economy goals. Our research group is developing advanced membrane and electrochemical technologies to recover clean water, nutrients, lithium, rare-earth elements, acids and other critical minerals from wastewater and industrial waste streams," Prof Singh said.
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Prof Singh pointed out that membrane-based systems are fast emerging as among the most pivotal technologies for selective, energy-efficient and sustainable resource recovery.
"The laboratory's research focuses on converting waste into valuable resources while supporting India's priorities in clean energy, wastewater reuse, critical mineral security and moving towards Atmanirbhar Bharat," he added.