India’s electric vehicle (EV) revolution is gathering pace, but with rapid adoption comes an equally significant challenge—what happens to millions of lithium-ion batteries once they reach the end of their lifecycle? While much of the industry’s attention remains focused on EV manufacturing, a new wave of startups is solving the equally important problem of battery recycling and critical mineral recovery.
One such startup is Black Mass Energies, a deep-tech clean energy venture founded by Shivam Kumar Gupta, which is building an end-to-end battery recycling ecosystem to recover valuable materials such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt from discarded lithium-ion batteries. Having recently secured ₹1.1 crore in pre-seed funding, the company is now scaling operations while investing heavily in research and development to strengthen India’s circular economy for EV batteries.
In an exclusive conversation with Indian Startup Times, Shivam Kumar Gupta shares his entrepreneurial journey, the evolution of Black Mass Energies, the future of India’s battery recycling industry, and how the startup aims to reduce the country’s dependence on imported critical minerals.
Finding Opportunity Where Others Saw Waste
Shivam Kumar Gupta’s entrepreneurial mindset began during his engineering days in Lucknow. While pursuing Electronics and Communication Engineering, he experimented with two startups—one in logistics and another connected to the EV ecosystem. Later, after spending two years working at a US-based bank, he and his college junior-turned-co-founder decided it was time to build something of their own.
Their market research pointed toward one obvious conclusion—electric mobility was poised to become one of India’s fastest-growing industries. While EV penetration in India remained only around 3–4%, countries like China had already crossed nearly 70%, indicating the enormous growth potential ahead. Instead of entering the crowded battery manufacturing segment, they identified a much larger long-term opportunity: battery recycling.
“We realized that every EV battery would eventually reach the end of its life. If these batteries simply ended up in landfills, they would become a serious environmental hazard. At the same time, they still contain valuable critical minerals that can be recovered and reused.”
That realization became the foundation of Black Mass Energies.
Building a Circular Economy for EV Batteries
The company formally began its research journey in late 2023 before incorporating Black Mass Energies in June 2024. During its initial phase, the startup collaborated with existing recycling companies and battery scrap aggregators to better understand industry dynamics and identify operational gaps.
Today, Black Mass Energies purchases end-of-life lithium-ion batteries, dismantles and processes them into “black mass”—a highly valuable powder rich in lithium, nickel, cobalt, and other critical metals.
This black mass is then supplied to specialized refineries that extract battery-grade compounds, which can subsequently be reused by manufacturers to produce new lithium-ion battery cells. Since these metals retain their original conductive properties even after recycling, they offer a sustainable alternative to freshly mined resources.
“Our objective is to create a true circular economy where critical minerals remain within India’s supply chain instead of being discarded or imported repeatedly.”
Rapid Growth Backed by Market Demand
After spending its first year refining the business model, Black Mass Energies entered commercial operations in 2025.
The company generated approximately ₹2 crore in revenue during the previous financial year, demonstrating early product-market fit in a niche but rapidly expanding sector. Even more impressive, within the first quarter of the current financial year alone, the startup has already crossed approximately ₹6.5 crore in revenue, supported by strong month-on-month growth.
Currently, Black Mass Energies operates two recycling facilities across India, sourcing battery scrap from local dealers and supplying processed black mass to domestic refineries facing shortages of quality raw material.
Why Deep-Tech Will Define the Next Phase
While the initial stage of battery dismantling relies on industrial machinery, Shivam believes the real innovation lies in recovering critical minerals efficiently through advanced refining technologies.
To achieve this, Black Mass Energies has partnered with research institutions including IIT Kanpur and a network of PhD scholars to develop proprietary technologies capable of recovering more than 99% of valuable metals from black mass.
The company plans to establish its own hydrometallurgical refinery by March 2027, allowing it to control the complete recycling value chain—from battery scrap to refined battery-grade materials.
“We don’t want to remain just a processor. We want to become a technology-led company capable of recovering battery-grade materials through our own patented processes.”
₹1.1 Crore Funding to Accelerate Scale
Black Mass Energies recently secured ₹1.1 crore in pre-seed funding, comprising ₹1 crore from a US-based investor along with additional participation from friends and family.
According to Shivam, the investor believed strongly in India’s emerging EV recycling opportunity and the startup’s vision of building a complete circular supply chain for battery materials. The capital is being deployed to expand operational capacity, strengthen R&D capabilities, and prepare for the company’s next growth phase.
The startup has also opened a $1 million (approximately ₹11 crore) seed funding round, which will primarily support capacity expansion and construction of its proprietary refinery.
Scaling Capacity for India’s Growing EV Market
Currently, Black Mass Energies processes nearly 150 metric tonnes of battery material every month.
The company now plans to double this capacity to 300 metric tonnes per month, requiring investments of nearly ₹5–6 crore in operational infrastructure, alongside additional funding for technology development.
Shivam believes the timing is ideal.
While today’s recycling industry largely depends on batteries discarded from laptops and consumer electronics, the first major wave of EV battery retirements is expected between 2028 and 2030, when vehicles sold during India’s recent EV boom complete their lifecycle.
That shift, he believes, will fundamentally transform the recycling industry.
Building a Profitable Deep-Tech Startup
Unlike many venture-backed startups focused primarily on growth, Black Mass Energies has prioritized profitability from day one.
Operating within the B2B segment has allowed the company to grow sustainably without adopting a cash-burning model. At the same time, Shivam has created separate teams—one dedicated to commercial growth and another exclusively focused on research and innovation—to ensure both business performance and technological advancement continue simultaneously.
“We strongly believe profitability and deep-tech innovation can coexist. Revenue fuels our present, while research secures our future.”
India’s Opportunity to Lead Global Battery Recycling
Looking ahead, Shivam is optimistic that India can emerge as one of the world’s leading battery recycling hubs.
As EV penetration increases significantly over the next decade, the country will generate an enormous volume of recyclable battery waste, enabling domestic recovery of critical minerals while reducing dependence on imports, particularly from China.
He believes startups like Black Mass Energies will become essential building blocks in creating India’s circular battery economy, strengthening resource security, supporting clean energy goals, and making the country’s EV ecosystem more self-reliant.
Conclusion
Black Mass Energies represents a new generation of Indian climate-tech startups solving tomorrow’s challenges before they become today’s crises. By combining commercial execution with deep technological research, the company is transforming battery waste into valuable resources while laying the foundation for a sustainable and self-reliant EV ecosystem.
With strong revenue growth, fresh capital, ambitious R&D plans, and a clear vision for India’s circular economy, Black Mass Energies is positioning itself as an important player in the country’s clean energy transition—proving that the future of electric mobility isn’t just about manufacturing batteries, but also about ensuring they never become waste.
Interview By: Arushi Agarwal
