Bengaluru Startup Turns Battery Waste Into Pure Metal

Every year, millions of lithium-ion batteries die and get thrown away, even though they're packed with valuable metals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel. Two engineers from Bengaluru saw those dead batteries differently: not as trash, but as treasure waiting to be unlocked.

Shubham Vishvakarma and Manikumar Uppala met at IIT Roorkee and started experimenting with battery chemistry while still in college. By October 2021, they had turned their research into Metastable Materials, a company that mines metals from spent batteries.

Their breakthrough? They figured out how to make the materials inside a battery react with each other, without adding external chemicals. Most recycling plants use harsh substances to break batteries apart, but Metastable's patented process lets the battery basically recycle itself.

The process starts by dismantling batteries underwater, which eliminates fire risks and toxic fumes. Then their special reaction separates the metals naturally: copper comes out under pressure, lithium dissolves in water, and magnets pull out nickel and cobalt.

The team built almost everything themselves. When they couldn't find the right equipment, they designed and constructed their own magnetic separators, furnaces, mills, and even India's most compact zero-liquid-discharge system that recycles all wastewater on site. They now hold five patents for their innovations.

Here's where it gets interesting: Metastable doesn't just sell to battery makers. Their pure metals go to glass manufacturers who use lithium, stainless steel plants that need nickel, pigment makers who buy cobalt, and automotive companies purchasing aluminum and copper.

The company sources dead batteries from everywhere, from Delhi scrap dealers to major car and motorcycle manufacturers. Their Bengaluru facility can process 1,500 tonnes yearly, and usage has doubled every quarter for the past three quarters.

Starting a business that requires building factories from scratch isn't easy. Metastable raised funding from Surge (Peak XV Partners), Speciale Invest, and other investors to build two factories and grow their team to over 50 people. Revenue started flowing in 2025.

India imports most of the critical metals used in batteries, even though the country generates growing mountains of battery waste each year. Metastable is helping close that loop by turning local waste into local supply.

The Ripple Effect

Beyond keeping toxic waste out of landfills, Metastable is building something bigger: a homegrown supply chain for critical materials. Every tonne of metal they extract means one less tonne India needs to import. Their process proves that cleaner, chemical-free recycling can work at commercial scale.

The global battery recycling market is projected to nearly double from $18 billion in 2025 to $32.9 billion by 2034. As electric vehicles and electronics multiply, so will dead batteries.

Vishvakarma's goal is simple: "We have proven that this is better. Now we have to scale it."

They're already scouting sites for their next factories, ready to turn more waste into wealth.