Battery recycling remains a difficult public-market theme because many of the industry’s cleaner pure-play operators are still private, while several investable names are either small, thinly traded, or housed inside larger mining, metals, utility, and battery-materials businesses. That makes stock selection less straightforward than in mature recycling or battery-manufacturing segments. Still, the industry’s importance has grown with the scale of battery deployment. The International Energy Agency said in its Global EV Outlook 2026 that EV battery deployment reached 1.2 TWh in 2025, up almost 30% from 2024 and more than seven times the 2020 level. The agency also said electric cars accounted for more than 70% of global battery deployment in 2025, while stationary battery storage made up over 15% of lithium-ion battery use.
Recycling sits at the intersection of two pressures: rising battery volumes and the need to secure critical minerals such as lithium, nickel and cobalt. IEA analysis has also highlighted improved hydrometallurgical recovery techniques for these battery materials, while Reuters noted in July 2026 that battery-metal markets remain sensitive to supply restrictions, policy shifts, and uneven EV demand. The result is an industry with long-term strategic relevance but a limited pool of publicly traded companies with direct exposure to battery recycling.
Methodology
For this article, we screened for publicly traded companies with exposure to the battery recycling industry. We focused on stocks that trade in the U.S. in some capacity. Since the public battery recycling universe is limited and many pure-play operators remain private, we also included diversified battery materials, metals, and energy companies with identifiable battery recycling operations. The stocks were ranked by the number of institutional owners holding stakes in them, according to Fintel data as of Q1 2026. The final list was limited to companies with recent news and developments.
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10. Livium Ltd. (OTC:LMMFF)
Livium Ltd. (OTC:LMMFF) is one of the Best Battery Recycling Stocks to Buy. On June 9, Livium said its wholly owned subsidiary Envirostream Australia entered into a recycling services framework agreement with Contemporary Amperex Technology (Hong Kong) Limited, a subsidiary of CATL. The agreement formalizes an existing relationship under which Envirostream had already provided battery recycling services on a purchase-order basis.
Under the framework, Envirostream will provide battery collection, logistics and recycling services, including dismantling, processing to black mass, recycling certification and destruction reporting. Services will be delivered in Australia, with potential coverage in New Zealand, and the initial term runs through May 15, 2029. The contract is non-exclusive and has no minimum volume commitments, with pricing and scope set case by case. That keeps the near-term revenue profile less locked in, but the counterparty quality is useful for Livium’s position in regional battery circularity. Livium says Envirostream is Australia’s leading battery recycler and focuses on recovering valuable materials from end-of-life batteries.
Livium Ltd. is an Australia-based clean-energy materials company operating across battery recycling, lithium chemicals, and battery materials, with battery recycling conducted through Envirostream Australia.
9. Fortum Oyj (OTC:FOJCY)
Fortum Oyj (OTC:FOJCY) is one of the Best Battery Recycling Stocks to Buy. The latest usable investor-relevant update is not a battery-recycling release. On June 15, Fitch Ratings affirmed Fortum’s BBB+ credit rating with a stable outlook, saying favorable Nordic power prices should help offset lower nuclear output. That matters because Fortum is a broad utility first, so its battery-recycling exposure has to be assessed alongside the balance sheet and power-generation base that support the wider portfolio.
Fortum’s direct link to the theme comes through Fortum Battery Recycling, which signed a CINEA grant agreement on March 25 for the NEXT HYDROMET expansion of its Harjavalta hydrometallurgical battery recycling facility. Fortum said the project could receive up to EUR 40 million and would improve the recovery of critical metals from end-of-life EV batteries and industrial battery waste. The company also described Harjavalta as Europe’s largest closed-loop hydrometallurgical battery recycling facility. Fortum therefore remains a diversified, lower-purity battery recycling name rather than a pure recycler, but its recycling asset is real.
Fortum Oyj is a Finland-based energy company focused on power generation, electricity sales, district heating, decarbonization services, and battery recycling through Fortum Battery Recycling.
8. Umicore SA (OTC:UMICY)
Umicore SA (OTC:UMICY) is one of the Best Battery Recycling Stocks to Buy. On June 26, Umicore said JPMorgan Chase crossed upward through the 3% direct voting-rights threshold on June 19. The disclosure showed 3.33% in direct voting rights and 0.58% in equivalent financial instruments, bringing JPMorgan Chase’s total holding to 3.91%. The notification followed an acquisition or disposal of securities or voting rights, and Umicore listed 246.4 million shares as the denominator for the filing.
Umicore’s battery-recycling connection comes through its Battery Recycling Solutions business, which recycles end-of-life batteries and battery production scrap across multiple battery chemistries. The company says its pyro-hydro technology recovers more than 95% of cobalt, copper, and nickel, and more than 90% of lithium, with recovered materials feeding back into the battery value chain. That gives the stock a direct battery-recycling link, although Umicore remains a diversified circular-materials company rather than a pure-play recycler in public markets.
Umicore SA is a Belgium-based circular materials technology company focused on catalysis, recycling, specialty materials, and battery materials solutions.
7. Norsk Hydro ASA (OTC:NHYDY)
Norsk Hydro ASA (OTC:NHYDY) is one of the Best Battery Recycling Stocks to Buy. On July 1, Hydro said Slovalco reached an agreement with the Slovak government that could allow the restart of 75,000 tonnes of curtailed primary aluminum capacity. The company said the restart would require EUR 100 million in investment and would remain dependent on European Commission approval of Slovakia’s updated indirect carbon cost compensation scheme. The update is centered on aluminum supply rather than battery recycling, but it still fits Hydro’s broader circular-materials position.
Aluminum is one of the materials recovered in battery recycling, and Hydro’s battery-recycling exposure comes through Hydrovolt, its battery recycler in Fredrikstad, Norway. Hydrovolt says its plant is designed to process 12,000 tons of battery packs annually, equal to about 25,000 EVs, and Hydro has previously said the process can recover materials including aluminum, copper, plastics and black mass. The Slovalco restart would therefore add industrial depth around a company already tied to battery recycling through Hydrovolt.
Norsk Hydro ASA is a Norway-based aluminum and renewable energy company with operations across bauxite, alumina, primary metal, recycling, extrusion, and energy.
6. Glencore plc (OTC:GLNCY)
Glencore plc (OTC:GLNCY) is one of the Best Battery Recycling Stocks to Buy. On June 29, Reuters reported that the Democratic Republic of Congo will withdraw unused first-half cobalt export quotas and reassign them to a state-controlled entity, tightening control over shipments from the world’s largest cobalt producer. The update is not a battery-recycling announcement, but it is relevant to the same supply chain.
Cobalt remains one of the battery metals that recyclers try to recover from spent lithium-ion batteries, and policy-driven supply constraints can make secondary supply more strategically useful. Glencore’s position is unusual because it combines primary cobalt exposure in the DRC with a recycling platform that processes end-of-life electronics, batteries and other metal-bearing materials to recover copper, nickel, cobalt and precious metals. The company also closed its agreement with Gécamines for land access at Kamoto Copper Company on May 27, keeping attention on its Congolese copper-cobalt footprint. Glencore’s battery-recycling link strengthened after it acquired Li-Cycle on August 8, 2025, with future services moving under Glencore Battery Recycling.
Glencore plc (OTC:GLNCY) is a Switzerland-based mining, metals trading, and recycling company with exposure to copper, cobalt, nickel, zinc, coal, energy products, and battery recycling.
5. Electra Battery Materials Corporation (NASDAQ:ELBM)
Electra Battery Materials Corporation (NASDAQ:ELBM) is one of the Best Battery Recycling Stocks to Buy. On June 4, Electra awarded a structural, mechanical, and piping construction package valued at about C$12.4 million to Ontario-based Kilmarnock Enterprises for work at its cobalt sulfate refinery complex north of Toronto. The package covers refinery retrofit, installation, and commissioning-readiness work across multiple process areas, including concrete and civil work, structural steel, process equipment installation, piping fabrication, and commissioning support.
Electra said it has now awarded about C$46 million in refinery-related construction packages, with most major construction packages in place and the project remaining in line with the budget and schedule announced in February. The refinery is central to Electra’s North American battery-materials platform, while its battery-recycling exposure comes from black mass opportunities tied to end-of-life lithium-ion batteries. Electra said it is advancing black mass recycling opportunities to recover critical materials from end-of-life batteries alongside cobalt refining and other downstream battery-materials work.
Electra Battery Materials Corporation is a Canada-based battery materials company developing capabilities in cobalt refining, battery-grade nickel refining, and battery recycling for the North American battery supply chain.
4. Aqua Metals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQMS)
Aqua Metals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQMS) is one of the Best Battery Recycling Stocks to Buy. On June 11, Aqua Metals said it was selected as the industrial partner on a U.S. Department of Energy-funded research program led by Idaho National Laboratory to advance next-generation battery recycling technologies. The project will evaluate electrochemically driven alternatives to conventional solvent extraction for separating nickel and cobalt from lithium-ion battery recycling streams. Aqua Metals will contribute battery recycling expertise, pilot-scale operating experience, and infrastructure from its Tahoe-Reno Innovation Center.
The company said the program supports its broader effort to reduce reliance on chemical-heavy refining methods by using electrochemical process integration and reagent regeneration. Aqua Metals also said its AquaRefining platform has been demonstrated at pilot scale on multiple battery chemistries using real battery-derived feedstocks, including lithium iron phosphate and nickel manganese cobalt batteries. The company does not expect the project to materially affect near-term financial results, but the selection adds federal validation to its recycling technology platform.
Aqua Metals, Inc. is a Nevada-based company focused on lithium battery recycling and critical minerals recovery through its AquaRefining technology platform.
3. American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:AREC)
American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:AREC) is one of the Best Battery Recycling Stocks to Buy. On June 17, American Resources said its wholly owned subsidiary, Electrified Materials Corporation, joined NAATBatt International, a North American trade group focused on advanced battery technology. The move followed EMCO’s May 28 procurement of its first battery-shredding line, which lends the update more operational weight than a standard industry membership announcement.
EMCO is building front-end battery recycling and conditioning capacity for end-of-life, off-warranty and off-spec lithium-ion batteries, including lithium iron phosphate batteries, a chemistry that has historically been more difficult for recyclers because it lacks high-value nickel and cobalt. American Resources said EMCO’s role covers aggregation, logistics, safe disposition, storage, shredding, pre-processing and feedstock conditioning. Downstream refining is handled through ReElement Technologies, which focuses on producing high-purity battery and critical-mineral products. That structure connects American Resources to the battery recycling chain from battery intake and shredding through preparation for refined material recovery.
American Resources Corporation is an Indiana-based critical minerals company with operations and investments across recycling, rare earth and battery-material processing, mineral feedstock aggregation, and downstream refining through its relationship with ReElement Technologies.
2. American Battery Technology Company (NASDAQ:ABAT)
American Battery Technology Company (NASDAQ:ABAT) is one of the Best Battery Recycling Stocks to Buy. On June 8, American Battery Technology Company said it won its appeal with the U.S. Department of Energy and had its grant reinstated for a $115 million commercial-scale critical-mineral lithium refinery project at Tonopah Flats. The company said the reinstatement came with no change to the awarded funds, technical and commercial milestones, or project scope, with only the contracted schedule updated to reflect time spent in review.
The refinery is planned as the first phase of the Tonopah Flats Lithium Project and was initially designed for 5,000 tonnes per year of battery-grade lithium hydroxide. American Battery Technology Company said it had already completed the first two years of the grant before receiving a termination notice in October 2025 and entering the informal dispute resolution process. The company’s fit with battery recycling stems from its integrated model, which combines primary lithium development with internally developed technologies for secondary critical-mineral recycling.
American Battery Technology Company is a Nevada-based critical minerals company commercializing lithium-ion battery recycling, primary battery-metal extraction, and battery-grade lithium refining technologies.
1. EnerSys (NYSE:ENS)
EnerSys (NYSE:ENS) is one of the Best Battery Recycling Stocks to Buy. On June 9, EnerSys introduced DataSafe Noir, a lithium-based energy storage system for data center power. The company said the system is built for real-world and dynamic load conditions, including high-density environments where AI-driven workloads can create variable power demand. EnerSys said DataSafe Noir is available immediately and delivers more than 2x output power and over 1.7x greater energy and capacity compared with publicly available specifications for leading lithium systems.
The platform expands EnerSys’ data center portfolio beyond its established DataSafe Thin Plate Pure Lead battery technology, giving customers both traditional lead-acid and advanced lithium-based options from one supplier. EnerSys is not a pure-play battery recycler, but its battery-recycling link is part of its product lifecycle model rather than a side label. The company says its recycling initiatives aim to recover every battery it sells and return materials to the battery supply chain.
EnerSys is a Pennsylvania-based stored-energy solutions company that manufactures batteries, chargers, power equipment, and related systems for industrial, infrastructure, data center, transportation, aerospace, defense, and energy applications.
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