Recyclekaro Opens Rare Earths and Advanced Materials Research Centre in Maharashtra

Recyclekaro, an e-waste and lithium-ion battery recycling company, has inaugurated its Rare Earths and Advanced Materials Research Centre at Wada in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, marking a significant push toward urban mining and critical material recovery.

Spread across five acres, the new facility will focus on extracting rare earth elements and advanced materials from end-of-life electronics, lithium-ion batteries and complex e-waste streams. The initiative aligns with India’s mineral security priorities by strengthening domestic recovery pathways and reducing reliance on imports.

The research centre will serve as a long-term, R&D-led platform, with a five-year roadmap covering rare earth recovery, advanced separation and purification technologies, battery materials optimisation, and scalable processes for higher yield and purity. Insights generated at the centre will support Recyclekaro’s plans to scale rare earth processing capacity to 20,000 metric tonnes.

Recyclekaro currently operates with an annual processing capacity of 24,500 metric tonnes of e-waste and 10,000 metric tonnes of lithium-ion battery waste, providing a strong operational foundation for expanded material recovery.

The company plans to invest around INR 500 crore by 2030 to develop world-class research infrastructure and build scientific talent. Over the next 12–24 months, it will onboard research scientists, PhDs and specialists in materials science, metallurgy and chemical engineering.

Commenting on the development, Rajesh Gupta, Founder and Managing Director, Evergreen Recyclekaro, said that strengthening India’s mineral security will require enhanced recovery from end-of-life products, alongside traditional mining and imports.

As part of its research strategy, Recyclekaro is collaborating with leading academic institutions including IIT Bombay, IIT Kanpur and IIT Hyderabad, while also partnering with overseas firms to align its work with global best practices.

With over 13 years of experience, Recyclekaro manages e-waste for major consumer electronics brands and operates around 1,200 collection touchpoints across India.