The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFC), Government of India, has issued a notification on rules for battery waste management in view of the shift to electric vehicles. Anticipating a need to have an organised channel for the safe disposal and recycling of batteries, the rules, called the Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022, are applicable to the producer, dealer, consumer, entities involved in collection, segregation, transportation, refurbishment and recycling of waste batteries. 

All types of batteries, regardless of their chemistry, shape, volume, weight, material composition and use are covered under the rules. The rules also have a provision for penal action in case of a violation and imposition of environmental compensation. The ministry has also set a minimum recovery percentage target for recovered materials out of dry weight batteries. 

The recovered materials will be then used to produce new batteries. For FY2024-25, the recovery target is set at 70 percent whereas for FY2025-26, it is 80 percent. The target for FY2026-27 is 90 percent. Mentioning that the recovery target may be reviewed by the committee once every four years to revisit the minimum levels of recovered battery materials in light of technical and scientific progress and emerging new technologies in waste management, the notification is expected to contribute towards enhancing each and every EV’s cost to the environment in India. This is especially in connection with the fact that nearly 1.4 million EVs as of July 2022 are said to operate in India if the data shared by the ministry of road transport and highways is relied upon. More than half of this volume is claimed to consist of electric three-wheelers followed by two-wheelers and passenger cars. 

The PLI scheme and other policy changes in terms of manufacture and sale of electric vehicles, it is clear that a strong battery ELV and disposal policy has to be in place. From the cost to the environment point of view, a policy extension in terms of the manufacture of such batteries locally down to the fuel cell level should also taking into view the ability of the battery to perform efficiently through out its lifecycle, thus staying alive for longer and when it does die, it should be recyclable to a great extent. 

Dr Akshay Singhal, Founder and CEO of Log9 Materials, averred. “The newly introduced Battery Waste Management standards by the Government under the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) concept addresses two important concerns. An efficient and effective waste management of all Li-Ion batteries that are nearing the end of their useful life and are expected to end up in landfills in a few years, avoiding any residual pollution impact. Second is the emphasis on investing in and nurturing the recycling of such used batteries, reducing the reliance on fresh resource mining.” 

Shubham Vishvakarma, CEO and Chief of Process Engineering of Metastable Materials, said, “The Battery Waste Management Rules announced by the Government of India is an excellent and much-needed step towards bringing to the fore innovations and myriad growth opportunities for the battery waste management and battery treatment space in our country, especially at a time when the ongoing EV boom in India is leading us to increasing concerns on e-waste.” “Under the new Rules notified, the Government has mandated a minimum percentage of recovery of various materials from end-of-life batteries, which is bound to enable the growth of novel business models such as urban mining in order to reduce India’s foreign dependency on procuring raw materials for EV batteries and other types of batteries,” he added. 

Ashok Sudrik, Chief Scientist, Infinite Orbit Research and Development Pvt Ltd, commented, “The Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022, were much needed and we are happy that government has started taking cognizance of the hazardous waste being created and the recycling or waste collection. Other than waste management recycling rules, there is a need for manufacturers to incorporate extension of battery life technologies, keep the lithium content minimal and develop innovative cell chemistry. The life of a battery should be 4000 to 6000 cycles, which means a life spane of about 10 to 15 years. BaaS (Battery as a Service) concept with swappable batteries will be a big contributor to the ultimate goal of keeping cost to the environment low.”

In other parts of the world

In Canada, Li-Cycle will begin constructing a USD 175 million plant in Rochester, N.Y., for recycling of lithium-ion batteries. On the grounds of what used to be the Eastman Kodak complex, the plant will be the largest of its kind in North America with an eventual capacity of 25 metric kilotons of input material and a capability to recover 95 percent or more of cobalt, nickel, lithium and other valuable elements through zero-wastewater, zero-emissions process. Ajay Kochhar, Co-founder and CEO, Li-Cycle, said, “We'll be one of the largest domestic sources of nickel and lithium, as well as the only source of cobalt in the United States."  

In May 2022, Hydrovolt, the largest battery recycling plant in Europe started operations in Fredrikstad, Norway. A joint venture between two Norwegian companies – Hydro and Northvolt, the plant has the capacity to process 12,000 tonnes of battery packs per year, enough for the entire end-of-life battery market in Norway currently. Claimed to have the capability to recover 95 percent of the materials used in an EV battery including plastics, copper, aluminum and ‘black mass’, a powder containing various elements inside lithium-ion batteries like nickel, manganese, cobalt and lithium. 

Not just in Europe or US, the rise of Electric Vehicles (EVs) and associated battery gigafactories is pushing forward the creation of a battery recycling value chain. It is a matter of debate whether it got to be a close-loop or an open-loop design in terms of sourcing of batteries to recycle and to put the resulting material to good use so that the cost to the environment is kept minimal. As the demand for use of ‘green’ electricity source gathers pace the world over, on the other end of the spectrum, which involved the end-of-life vehicle for EVs, the demand for recycling in increasing partly due to regulations – the EU regulations have just intensified – and partly by a demand for re-use of materials due to geo-political reasons as well. A strong desire to localise supply chains and safeguard critical raw materials are also the driving factors.  

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Kinetic Watts & Volts (KWV), the electric mobility arm of Kinetic Engineering, has entered a technology partnership with Jio Things, a subsidiary of Jio Platforms.

The collaboration will integrate voice-assisted controls, IoT-enabled digital clusters and connected vehicle technologies into Kinetic’s upcoming electric two-wheeler range.

The partnership aims to deploy a suite of digital features for Indian riders, utilising Jio’s IoT ecosystem, which includes hardware, cloud infrastructure and device management.

The collaboration will introduce several capabilities to the Kinetic EV platform:

• Voice Assistance: Interaction for vehicle functions.
• Smart Clusters: Digital instrument panels providing real-time data and infotainment.
• Telematics: Cloud-based analytics for performance monitoring and diagnostics.
• Fleet Management: Tools for commercial operators to track and manage vehicle assets.

The connected platform will be embedded across future KWV models to provide a standard digital experience across different customer segments.

Ajinkya Firodia, Vice-Chairman & Managing Director, Kinetic Watts & Volts, said, “Kinetic has always stood for democratizing mobility and innovation. With this partnership, we now extend that commitment into digital mobility, bringing voice assistance and connected features to everyday riders, so technology becomes truly intuitive and useful. This collaboration also stays true to our motto of ‘Easy’ a philosophy already visible in practical features such as Easy Key, Easy Flip and Easy Charge; and now strengthened with seamless digital experiences that simplify ownership for our customers.”

Ashish Lodha, President, Jio Platforms, said, “Our partnership with Kinetic exemplifies our vision to build a truly connected automotive ecosystem in India. By bringing Jio’s voice assistance and IoT capabilities to the two-wheeler segment, we are not just upgrading vehicles; we are redefining the interaction between man and machine, bringing the benefits of smart mobility to every Indian rider.”

The partnership seeks to combine Kinetic’s manufacturing experience with Jio’s digital infrastructure to make connected electric vehicles more accessible. Objectives include improving rider safety, increasing digital uptime and providing data analytics for fleet operators.

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AION-Tech Solutions has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Theoremus AD, a Bulgarian company specialising in transport orchestration, to develop urban mobility solutions in India.

The partnership will begin with First–Middle–Last Mile (FMLM) mobility integration pilots in Telangana and Karnataka. These pilots will focus on demand-responsive electric vehicle (EV) feeder services connected to metro and bus corridors.

The collaboration involves the deployment of a multimodal transport orchestration platform. This system integrates metro rail, bus networks, EV fleets, parking infrastructure and mobility data into a single framework. The platform uses AI and data for demand forecasting, EV utilisation, congestion management and operational visibility.

During the pilot phase, EV fleets will use data and analytics to manage routing, charging, and service planning. Performance will be monitored through indicators such as ridership, fleet utilisation, and carbon reduction.

Chanakya Bellam Radhakrishna, Director, AION-Tech Solutions, said, “This collaboration marks an important step in our mission to build intelligent, integrated, and scalable mobility ecosystems for Indian cities. By combining Theoremus AD’s global orchestration expertise with the on-ground execution capabilities of our subsidiaries, ETO Motors and ROQIT, we aim to strengthen first–middle–last mile connectivity and deliver measurable sustainability outcomes.”

AION-Tech Solutions will manage execution through two subsidiaries:

• ETO Motors: Will deploy and operate the EV fleets for the pilots.
• ROQIT: Will provide digital platforms, control dashboards and visibility tools for transport authorities.

Hristo Popov, CBO, Theoremus AD, said, “India is one of the most dynamic and complex urban mobility markets globally. Partnering with AION-Tech Solutions enables us to localise our platform and deploy real- world pilots that showcase the impact of integrated data, AI-driven optimisation and coordinated EV operations at scale.”

Following the pilots, the partners intend to engage with transport and urban development agencies to expand the solution. Target organisations include TSRTC, HMDA, and HMRL in Telangana, and BMTC, BMRCL and DULT in Karnataka. The project will operate under Indian data residency and cybersecurity frameworks.

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South Korean auto major Hyundai Motor Group has released a teaser image for its participation at CES 2026. The group will present its AI Robotics Strategy, themed ‘Partnering Human Progress’, on 5 January 2026 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Centre in Las Vegas.

The announcement will outline the expansion of robotics technology within the group's network. It focuses on strategies to commercialise robotics through human-robot collaboration and technological integration.

Boston Dynamics will exhibit the Atlas robot. This model is intended for commercialisation as a robot co-worker.

The group will also reveal plans for robotics learning and training using its Software-Defined Factory (SDF) approach. The SDF uses data and software to manage the production process and the robotics value chain, including components, logistics and software.

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German technology company Bosch will introduce an AI-enabled high-performance computing unit at CES 2026 in Las Vegas. The AI extension platform is designed to upgrade existing vehicle cockpit systems with artificial intelligence functions, transforming the interior into an assistant that understands driver routines and context.

The platform allows for the integration of features such as an AI voice assistant, interior scene understanding, and navigation. For example, the system can coordinate multiple actions, such as adjusting cabin temperature and activating seat heating, in response to a single voice command.

Bosch anticipates a market for AI-enabled in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) solutions reaching EUR 17 billion by 2030. The company expects to generate sales of over EUR 2 billion from these solutions by the end of the decade.

The platform is built on the Nvidia Drive AGX Orin system-on-chip (SoC) and utilises the Nvidia CUDA platform. It provides 150 to 200 tera operations per second (TOPS) of additional compute power.

Through a partnership with Microsoft, Bosch is also integrating Microsoft 365 into the cockpit. This allows drivers to join Microsoft Teams calls via voice commands, with the vehicle simultaneously activating adaptive cruise control to maintain safety during the interaction.

Markus Heyn, Member of the Board of Management of Robert Bosch and Chairman of Bosch Mobility, said, “The new AI extension platform enables existing cockpit systems to be quickly and easily upgraded with advanced AI functions. This makes the driving experience more comfortable, intuitive, and safer for all vehicle occupants.”

“Bosch’s new AI-powered cockpit enables both drivers and car manufacturers to fully leverage the capabilities of modern automotive software. Thanks to the ‘AI extension platform,’ new functions can be implemented in the vehicle much faster in the future,” he added.

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