Project VoltCycle

In September 2025, the Indian Cabinet approved a ₹1,500 crore incentive scheme for critical mineral recycling. Simultaneously, India and the EU launched a €15.2 million call for battery recycling research proposals.

VoltCycle, a Bangalore-based startup, had a patented low-temperature hydrometallurgical process to recover lithium, cobalt, and nickel from EV batteries. However, 80% of their feedstock came from informal channels without documentation—a critical disqualifier for both the Indian subsidy and EU partnerships.

A Pugh matrix was used to evaluate growth options. The selected path was a Sequenced Strategy:

• Phase 1: Apply for the Indian subsidy to fund pilot scale-up and build digital collection infrastructure.
• Phase 2: Use operational data (tonnes processed, purity levels) to strengthen the EU joint proposal.
• Result: This approach unlocks ₹1.25Cr in immediate subsidy funding while building a highly auditable track record required by the EU.

To fix the undocumented feedstock problem, we designed an offline-first mobile app for informal aggregators. Each battery receives a digital ID, GPS-tagged bin, and basic chemistry check at the point of collection.

This data flows into VoltCycle's plant system, generating auditable batch records that satisfy the Indian subsidy and the EU Battery Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, unlocking a 20% price premium on certified recycled lithium.