Hundreds of discarded batteries rattle along a conveyor belt into a crusher in a remote plant in northern India, fuelling a multi-billion-dollar industry that is bolstering the country's geopolitical ambitions.India is cashing in on the growing "e-waste" sector -- pulling critical minerals like lithium and cobalt, which are needed to make everything from smartphones to fighter jets and electric cars, from everyday electronics.Global jitters about China's dominance as a critical minerals producer has kicked New Delhi into action, ramping up extraction of the materials that are essential for its drive to become an artificial intelligence hub.With demand expected to soar and domestic mining unlikely to deliver meaningful output for at least a decade, the country is turning to an often‑overlooked source -- the swelling mountains of electronic waste.Dead batteries yield lithium, cobalt and nickel; LED screens contain germanium; circuit boards hold platinum and palladium; hard disks store rare earths -- e‑waste has long been described as a "gold mine" for critical minerals.India generated nearly 1.5 million tonnes of e‑waste last year, according to official data -- enough to fill 200,000 garbage trucks -- though experts believe the real figure is likely to be twice as much.At Exigo Recycling's sprawling plant in Haryana state, a machine churns the batteries from e-scooters into a jet-black powder.The material is then leached into a wine‑red liquid, filtered, evaporated and finally transformed into a fine white powder -- lithium."White gold," said the facility's lead scientist, watching the final product collect in trays.Backyard workshopsIndustry estimates suggest "urban mining" -- the recovery of minerals from e‑waste -- could be worth up to $6 billion annually.While insufficient to meet India's projected demand, analysts say it could help absorb import shocks and strengthen supply chains.Most e‑waste, however, is still dismantled in informal backyard workshops that extract easily saleable metals such as copper and aluminium, leaving critical minerals untapped.India's formal recycling capacity remains limited compared to China and the European Union, both of which have invested heavily in advanced recovery technologies and traceability systems.India has a "100 percent import dependency" for key critical minerals including lithium, cobalt and nickel, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.Seeking to close the gap, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government approved a $170‑million programme last year to boost formal recycling of critical minerals.The programme builds on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) rules, which require manufacturers to collect and channel e‑waste to government-registered recyclers."EPR has acted as a primary catalyst in terms of bringing scale to the recycling industry," said Raman Singh, managing director at Exigo Recycling, one of the few Indian facilities able to extract lithium........Read more at:https://economictimes.indiatimes.com//industry/cons-products/electronics/junk-to-high-tech-india-bets-on-e-waste-for-critical-minerals/articleshow/128491568.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst (ICE MUMBAI)

Fonte notizia: The Economic Times