Recycling Lithium-Ion Batteries for Critical Minerals

Background

The project will establish a lighthouse initiative in Nigeria, designed to meet the country's growing battery‑recycling needs while operating fully within Nigeria’s enabling regulatory and industrial environment. In addition, the project is designed for scalability across the wider African region, helping address the continent’s rapidly increasing battery‑recycling demand and preventing thousands of tons of critical minerals from being lost to waste.

Hinckley Recycling is committed to upholding a standard of excellence by providing high‑quality services for the disposal of electronic waste. The company conforms to strict environmental recycling requirements and best practices, ensuring that this service is always carried out in an environmentally responsible manner, and that all processes involved in the disposal comply with all relevant legislation enforced by recognized authorities, both local and international. 

Transformational Innovation

This project will establish Nigeria's first commercial-scale lithium-ion battery recycling facility in Lagos, with a processing capacity of 5,000 tonnes of battery waste per year. By recovering lithium, cobalt and nickel in the form of black mass, the facility will create a domestic secondary source of critical minerals and validate the business case for circular battery value chains in West Africa.

Designed as a “lighthouse” intervention, the project combines the expertise of a consortium with deep experience in battery recycling, waste management and community engagement. Beyond infrastructure development, it will establish a nationwide network of 20 collection stations across Nigeria’s six regions, formalising the informal collection sector and strengthening security of supply. Complementary activities, including hands-on training, national workshops and conferences, virtual knowledge-sharing sessions, and GESI roundtables, will build technical capacity, stimulate national dialogue and promote inclusive participation across the battery value chain.

Objectives

• Establish Nigeria's first fully operational lithium-ion battery recycling facility to recover critical minerals for the global energy transition.
• Create a flagship “lighthouse” project demonstrating sustainable industrial innovation and circular economy principles.
• Contribute to SDG 9 by promoting sustainable industrialization and innovation, with 96 jobs expected by year two.
• Support SDG 13 through climate action by enabling circular value creation from lithium-ion battery waste.
• Advance SDG 1 by improving economic and health outcomes for workers in the informal waste sector.
• Enable replication and scaling of battery recycling solutions across Africa, building on Nigeria's existing policy framework.

Expected Impact

• Environmental: The project reduces battery waste by processing 5,000 tonnes annually through a commercial recycling plant, while establishing 20 collection centres to strengthen waste management systems across Nigeria. It also promotes circular economy practices by recovering valuable materials such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel for reuse, thereby reducing reliance on primary extraction and minimizing associated environmental impacts.
• Social: The project trains and certifies 240 battery technicians and installers, helping to formalize the workforce while creating new career opportunities. Through a dedicated Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) framework, it targets 40% participation by women and youth, while also supporting safer and more structured working conditions for workers in the informal waste sector.
• Economic: The project creates a domestic secondary source of critical minerals, reducing dependence on international processing while retaining more value within Nigeria. It also establishes a standardized national network for battery collection, strengthening scalability and supply chain security, and positions Nigeria as a regional hub for battery circularity by enabling knowledge sharing and supporting potential replication across Africa.