Attero to Invest ₹100 Crore to Expand REE Recycling Capacity

Attero, a leading Indian company in e-waste and lithium-ion battery recycling, has announced plans to increase its rare earth element (REE) recycling capacity from 300 tonnes to 30,000 tonnes per year. The company will invest ₹100 crore for this expansion. This strategic move aligns with the Government of India’s National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM), which focuses on reducing import dependency and building a strong domestic supply chain for critical minerals.

Rare earth elements such as Neodymium (Nd), Praseodymium (Pr), and Dysprosium (Dy) are vital for key industries including electric vehicles, wind energy, and electronics. With the global REE market projected to reach USD 10.9 billion by 2029 and the REE magnet market expected to cross USD 30.3 billion by 2033, increasing domestic recycling capacity is crucial for India’s growth in these sectors.

Attero CEO and Co-founder Nitin Gupta stated that the company holds patented technology capable of recovering rare earth elements from e-waste with over 98% efficiency and 99.9% purity. At present, the company processes 1 tonne per day and plans to scale up to 100 tonnes per day, achieving an annual capacity of 30,000 tonnes.

Attero advanced technology efficiently extracts elements like Nd, Pr, Ce, Gd, and Dy from discarded products such as hard drives, laptops, and earphones. The company also processes black mass from used lithium-ion batteries to recover high-purity materials including lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese. Attero currently holds over 46 global patents, with recent grants in India, China, Taiwan, and several Middle Eastern countries.

In FY25, Attero processed 1,50,000 tonnes of e-waste and 15,000 tonnes of lithium-ion batteries. The company now plans to scale this up to 4,15,000 tonnes of e-waste and 50,000 tonnes of battery recycling capacity per year. Attero is also preparing to expand its operations to Europe and the US. Founded in 2008, Attero operates in six countries and has recently launched Selsmart, a consumer-focused e-waste take-back platform that aims to process 1,40,000 metric tonnes of e-waste and recover five million units over the next three years.