Ather Energy has entered into a partnership with a Bengaluru based firm called LICO Materials to develop a system for the collection, recycling and recovery of materials from end-of-life lithium-ion EV batteries. Under this partnership arrangement, batteries from Ather's fleet will be processed at LICO Materials' recycling facility in Karnataka. These packs will either be repurposed for a second-life application, or the materials from within them will be recovered and reintroduced into the battery supply chain for use by cell manufacturers and automotive OEMs.
- Recovered materials will re-enter the domestic battery supply market
- LICO will procure end-of-life batteries from Ather
The partnership covers Ather batteries from both privately owned, and Ather’s own fleet vehicles, provided that Ather routes them to LICO for recycling. Gaurav Dolwani, CEO, LICO Materials explains that Ather customers do not sell their vehicles to LICO. Instead, once Ather determines that a battery has reached the end of its life, it will be made available for recycling through its service center network. “LICO will collect these batteries from Ather service centers through its reverse logistics network. LICO's in-built digital application enables end-to-end tracking and traceability of batteries, from collection and transportation to their receipt at the recycling facility.”
Once the batteries are received from Ather, LICO will conduct a detailed technical assessment to determine their residual life and the appropriate processing pathway. The batteries are evaluated across multiple parameters, including State of Health (SoH), State of Charge (SoC), and internal resistance. Based on this, the company will determine whether a battery should be sent for recycling, or repurposed for a second-life application. LICO confirms that there is no single fixed percentage of remaining battery capacity that determines end of service life. The decision is based on a combination of battery health, performance and electrical parameters.
The partnership is also aligned with the Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022, which mandate extended producer responsibility across the battery value chain. The companies cited industry projections indicating that battery recycling could meet more than 40 percent of India's lithium, nickel and cobalt requirements by 2050, while supporting job creation and reducing carbon emissions. LICO claims that its facility is capable of recovery rates of up to 95 percent .