From Umicore to Li‑Cycle: Who’s Leading the Global EV Battery Recycling Market?
Over the past years, the global EV battery recycling industry has grown from an emerging, niche sector to an important part of the global economy. As supply chain security and the implementation of ambitious Circular Economy goals become increasingly essential for many companies, the traditional competitors in the EV battery recycling space are being forced to redefine their product offering to align with these developments. New entrants to the market consist primarily of pure-play material recyclers, such as Redwood Materials, alongside multinational commodity companies such as Glencore, which have made significant investments in the sector through their acquisition of Li-Cycle.
Competitive Landscape: Comparative Data and Market Dominance
The market leaders can be segmented into three strategic groups: European pioneers (Umicore), North American pure-plays now backed by global giants Li-Cycle/Glencore, and Redwood Materials.
Key Market Players and Comparison
| Company | Headquarters | Primary Technology | Key Recent Update (2025) | 2024 Market Share (Approx.) | Strategic Focus |
| Glencore Battery Recycling (GBR) / Li-Cycle | Baar, CH / Toronto, CA | Proprietary Spoke & Hub (Hydrometallurgy) | Acquisition of Li-Cycle by Glencore in August 2025, integrating Li-Cycle’s Black Mass tech with Glencore’s refining power. | Significant market expansion potential post-merger. | Global scale; High-efficiency Nickel/Cobalt/Lithium recovery. |
| Umicore N.V. | Brussels, Belgium | Proprietary Pyro-Hydro Process (High Lithium Recovery) | Umicore unveiled its roadmap to 2028, outlining a strategic focus on maximizing cash generation | Market leader in European capacity and yield. | Circularity in Europe; Cathode Active Material production. |
| Redwood Materials | Carson City, US | Hydrometallurgy (Integrated Spoke-and-Hub) | Critical materials recovery began in South Carolina (Nov 2025). Announced $350 million Series E funding in October 2025. | Estimated ~16% in the global market (2024), US leader. | Domestic US closed-loop; Manufacturing of anode/cathode components. |
Data Points and Comparisons:
In August 2025, Glencore Plc., based in the UK, announced that it had acquired Li-Cycle, which was highlighted on Glencore’s website as being a “game-changing acquisition”. Li-Cycle already has a proven track record with North American and European technology for hydrometallurgy (AA Hydrochem®), which has produced revenues in excess of since the establishment of its North American operation in 2024, with revenues increasing. With support from Glencore’s massive capital base and complementary global network of refineries, the combined company is poised for enormous growth and is at the forefront of developing a market-dominating battery recycling strategy by combining technology and scale.
Redwood Materials has grown exponentially thanks to its many successful partnerships with leading automotive manufacturers (OEMs) such as Volkswagen, Toyota, BMW, and General Motors (GM) and due to Redwood Materials’ focus on a comprehensive supply chain for battery components in the United States. Shortly after raising $350 million in Series E funding (in October 2025), Redwood reported that it had begun to recover critical battery materials from its South Carolina facility (November 2025). The company claims to have successfully recovered 95% of the critical battery materials that it processes.
Umicore’s Resilience: Umicore is one of the world leaders, especially in Europe, for recovering copper, cobalt, nickel, and lithium from batteries into their pure battery-grade forms using Umicore’s innovative pyro-hydro processing technique. Umicore’s strategy aligns with the EU’s emphasis on Circularity and is also differentiated by its ability to return recycled material directly into the cathode production line. Umicore’s Group revenues for 2024 amounted to € 3.5 billion versus € 3.9 billion in 2023—the adj. EBIT for the Group stood at € 478 million (-29% compared to 2023) and the adj. EBITDA at € 763 million (-22% compared to 2023). The 2024 Group adj. EBITDA margin amounted to 22%.
After the first phase of validating technology and building infrastructure, the global electric vehicle (EV) battery recycling industry will go through a transitional phase to blaze a path toward a future of commercialisation. The merger between Glencore and Li-Cycle and the vertical integration efforts of Redwood Materials will significantly change the competitive landscape, shifting to ensure feedstock security and the adoption of high-efficiency technologies, while also working to comply with global regulatory requirements.
The New Geopolitical and Regulatory Reality
The market’s expansion is not purely organic; it is an industrial response to aggressive, regionally focused government mandates designed to foster strategic autonomy and circularity. This policy environment has created three distinct, heavily capitalised battlegrounds: Asia-Pacific (China), Europe (EU), and North America (US).
Policy as the Primary Catalyst for Investment
The key regulatory frameworks dictating future investment are the EU Battery Regulation and the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
| Policy Instrument | Geographic Focus | Primary Mechanism | Impact on Recycling Investment |
| EU Battery Regulation (2023/1542) | Europe | Mandated Recycled Content, Collection Targets, Battery Passport. Requires minimum recycled content in new batteries (e.g., 6% for Lithium by 2030, 16% for Nickel by 2031). | Forces manufacturers to secure European recycling capacity (e.g., Umicore’s advantage). Ensures long-term, high-quality feedstock supply for European facilities. |
| U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) | North America | Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credits (AMPTC) for domestic production of battery components and critical minerals. | Incentivizes the establishment of entire domestic supply chains, from Black Mass processing to cathode active material (CAM) manufacturing (Redwood/Li-Cycle strategy). Shifts investment away from Asia-Pacific. |
It has now been just over a year since the US Congress signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Already, the IRA has been followed by more than US$110 billion in clean energy investments, with just over $70 billion earmarked for the US battery supply chain, particularly downstream cell projects (so-called giga factories).
Geographic Competitive Dynamics (2026-2030)
The global market is not a single entity; it is a collection of regionally protected markets, each rapidly building capacity to secure its own supply of critical battery metals.
- The Asia-Pacific region is home to the world’s highest volume and environmentally-corrected installed (or reused) recycling capacity. It is currently led by China and South Korea.
Key strategies for success: China’s recyclers (GEM and Ganfeng Lithium) are utilising vertical and horizontal integration strategies. These companies often have facilities near the following: “Gigafactories,” which means they recycle production scrap (currently the largest source of feedstock); recyclers’ facilities are also used to feed the reclaimed material back to the supply chain for battery materials.
Battery Type Focus, – LFP Lithium Iron Phosphate (or other low-cost battery technology) has been adopted more broadly around the world, and therefore, APAC recyclers are working toward developing more specialised and higher capacity hydrometallurgical processes for recovery of lithium and graphite from these lower-value batteries.
The regulations driving the APAC recycling market’s development, – The Chinese government has implemented a Battery Traceability Management System and enacted an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulation, requiring battery manufacturers to create collection networks and designated recycling locations where collected batteries will be sent for recycling. This will create regulatory certainty, which will support a growing recycling industry in APAC.
The future outlook for Recycling in APAC, – Given that APAC is expected to see a large increase in the number of End-of-Life (EoL) batteries through 2030, APAC will continue to occupy its current position as the largest electric vehicle battery recycling market. However, APAC’s dominance will likely diminish somewhat due to the growing sub-regions of North America and Europe.
- North America – Competition Driven by Subsidised Technology
The North American Market is mainly located in the United States, which has many investments in capital and is in a fast-paced growth stage with suppliers moving into their supply chains and creating localised supply chains due to geopolitical security reasons. The major competitive dynamic is creating vertical integration and compliance with the INRA or the Inflation Reduction Act. As this law permits considerable tax credits from the federal government, many companies are competing to develop vertical integration in their quest for as many tax credits as possible.
Redwood Materials (vertical integration) – Redwood Materials is working towards achieving vertical integration at every level by processing components from recycled material to create end-of-life (EoL) batteries. Because of their ability to pull together all the stages of their supply chains through urban mining and collecting EoL batteries, they stand to reap the most rewards from the INRA.
Glencore Battery Recycling (global scale) – With the purchase of Li-Cycle’s assets, Glencore has acquired North America’s most advanced hydrometallurgical technology and is in possession of the ROCHESTER HUB Project that has received funding from the Department of Energy. Glencore Battery Recycling (GBR) is aiming to develop its capacity to refine black mass into battery commodities with a high degree of purity so that they can be sold to Glencore’s global trading and refining network.
Management Regulations – The Inflation Reduction Act allows battery and other component manufacturers to take substantial tax credits, which will reduce the cost of manufacturing in the United States. Through these incentives, this legislation provides U.S.-based recycling companies with an opportunity to achieve a price advantage over their competitors.
- Europe is known for having a higher abundance of policy-driven initiatives than any other region, using legislative means to enforce materials security and compliance with increasingly rigorous environmental regulations.
Partnerships in Recycling and Meeting Regulatory Requirements: The European recycling market is primarily an effort to meet the requirements set by the European Union’s (EU) Battery Regulation (2023/1542) to make sure that materials collected and made into batteries meet acceptable levels of recovery efficiency, acceptable levels of recovered material in new batteries, and acceptable levels of recycled materials.
Company Profile of Umicore: Umicore is a recognised leader in hybrid pyro-hydrometallurgical technology to meet recycling/recovery targets. The company creates close- loop synergies with European OEMs and Battery Gigafactories to eliminate loss of materials from the European supply chain.
Recycling Legislation: The Battery Regulation requires that by the end of 2031, at least 80% of lithium is recycled, and at least 95% of cobalt, copper, and nickel are recycled. In 2027, a battery passport will allow complete tracking of the battery’s life cycle. And as batteries continue to be recycled, as explained in upcoming parts, more and more batteries will become available through efficient recycling systems.
Comparative Analysis: Financial Models of Market Leaders
The competitive battle in the global EV battery recycling market is fundamentally a contest between two distinct financial and operational models: the integrated component manufacturer (Redwood Materials) versus the global commodity producer (Glencore Battery Recycling/GBR). Their differing approaches to capital deployment, revenue generation, and risk management define the future financial structure of the industry.
The Vertical Integration Premium and CAPEX Burden from Redwood Materials
Redwood Materials is pursuing an aggressive vertically integrated strategy, which could provide the greatest margins; however, it requires immense Capital Expenditures (CAPEX) upfront. Their strategy is based on developing and operating not only to gain recycling facilities but also on anode and cathode production capabilities on the same property. By manufacturing the higher-value battery components directly to the battery manufacturers, Redwood can take advantage of all possible benefits from the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credits by generating revenue from both battery components and the government subsidies they receive for producing these products domestically. The significant financial advantage of using this model is the “manufacturing premium”, as it allows a manufacturer to eliminate exposure to commodity pricing volatility and instead utilise long-term supply agreements for specialised components. However, there is a significant risk in implementing this model since Redwood must overcome the vast technical and financial challenges associated with efficiently and effectively scaling the complex manufacturing of the various components and therefore will require continuous, significant capital raising; they have recently completed a Series E round of investment.
Glencore Battery Recycling (GBR): The Commodity Scale and Existing Infrastructure Leverage
The Glencore Battery Recycling (GBR) model is different from other battery recycling models because it acquires assets from Li-Cycle and then builds maximum scale and commodity trading around that model. Unlike other battery recyclers, GBR’s main business focus is not on producing finished components. Instead, GBR wants to efficiently process batteries that have been collected into high-purity, battery-grade nickel, cobalt and lithium salts, which they sell as commodities. GBR’s financial strength is derived from Glencore’s existing global infrastructure, particularly through the use of Glencore’s already established, large-scale refining/smelting facilities and comprehensive commodity trading capabilities. By using these resources to process battery materials efficiently, GBR is able to minimise its capital costs by eliminating the need to build brand new, highly specialised processing facilities that are normally required for battery recyclers. This enables GBR to bring its products to market promptly and generate revenue quickly. The revenue GBR generates is a function of the fluid and volatile nature of metal pricing on the global marketplace. Because GBR receives its revenue directly from metal sales, it is subject to changes in the price of metals. However, because of Glencore’s experience with commodity hedging, GBR is able to manage the risk related to fluctuations in metal prices. The key to GBR’s success will be in completing the Rochester Hub promptly, so as to be able to take advantage of the Department of Energy’s subsidisation of GBR’s capital, and to produce at very high levels of competitive efficiency, and thereby capture market share at speed.
In conclusion, a critical turning point has emerged in the international market for battery recycling through the emergence of traditional industry models with geographical differences. The companies in this sector are competing with one another not only in terms of the volume of materials recovered from used batteries but also in terms of how those recovered materials will be monetised under varying legal statutes. For example, in North America, companies such as Redwood Materials are utilising a Vertical Integration strategy, which combines high-risk and high-return elements through significant, ongoing Capital Expenditures (CAPEX) to create vertically-aligned manufacturing plants that will produce finished components (anodes & cathodes) for future use. The Vertical Integration strategy presents an opportunity for companies to capture both increased margins and additional funding by selling finished components through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
