Lohum links Gulf waste to India refining: India-based battery recycling and materials company Lohum is building a lithium-ion battery processing facility in Sharjah, designed to channel battery waste from the Middle East and Africa into its refining operations in India to feedstock demand for critical minerals across several industries, according to a company statement.

The details: The facility, developed in partnership with UAE-based waste management firm Beeah and the Emirati Energy and Infrastructure Ministry, will be rolled out in phases, initially focusing on processing lithium-ion batteries into black mass — an intermediate material containing lithium, nickel and cobalt — which will then be shipped to India for further refining. The project is expected to process around 1.5k tonnes of batteries per year from 2026, with capacity planned to double within three years.

Lohum has existing refining infrastructure in India, including a battery-grade lithium refinery with around 1 mtpa capacity, alongside facilities processing lithium, cobalt, and nickel, positioning the country as its primary downstream processing base.

The funnel mode

The UAE facility is being positioned as a regional aggregation and processing hub, with Lohum expecting early feedstock to come from EV and non-EV lithium-ion batteries. “Over time, as volumes scale and infrastructure deepens, it can evolve into a broader international sourcing and processing hub,” Sachin Maheshwari, chief corporate development officer at Lohum, tells EnterpriseAM.

Early feedstock: With EV penetration still low across the region, early volumes are expected to come largely from electronics, industrial systems, and energy storage batteries, Maheshwari said. This mirrors broader global trends, where recycling feedstock remains dominated by consumer electronics and industrial batteries, with end-of-life EV battery volumes expected to scale meaningfully only in the 2030s, according to the International Energy Agency.

The India anchor

Import dependence: The UAE project comes as India remains almost entirely dependent on imports for key battery minerals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel. India’s lithium-ion battery demand is projected to increase from around 10.8 GWh in 2022 to over 160 GWh by 2030 as the country scales its electric mobility and energy storage, implying a sharp rise in material requirements.

Secondary supply: Against this backdrop, companies like Lohum are building recycling and refining capacity to create a secondary supply stream alongside mining-linked imports. “While recycling improves sustainability and enhances domestic recovery of lithium, nickel, and cobalt, current and near-term demand cannot be met by recycled material alone. Recycling strengthens resilience and reduces import dependence over time,” Maheshwari said.

Why the UAE

“The UAE is strategically attractive due to its strong logistics connectivity across the Middle East, Africa, and Europe and financial ecosystem and infrastructure that support industrial growth,” Maheshwari said. Looking ahead, Lohum plans to expand the Sharjah facility to include downstream processing and supply materials directly into regional battery and energy storage value chains.

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