American Battery Technology Company, an integrated critical battery materials company commercializing both its primary battery critical mineral manufacturing and secondary lithium-ion battery recycling facilities, has been contracted for and approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to recycle the end-of-life lithium-ion batteries from the largest lithium-ion battery cleanup operation in EPA history. The project’s focus is on the safe handling and processing of damaged battery materials, underscoring the company’s commitment to protecting human health and the environment. American Battery Technology Company (ABTC) has made significant enhancements to its facility in Nevada in order to process these damaged battery materials and has been receiving large-scale shipments of this material for the past several weeks.
Following a fire at a grid-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) facility in Northern California in January 2025, up to approximately 100,000 lithium-ion battery modules require specialized handling, packaging, transportation, and recycling in accordance with procedures being overseen by the U.S. EPA. In Spring 2025, ABTC underwent an arduous audit and review process and successfully received formal approval from the U.S. EPA for its battery recycling facility in Nevada to receive waste material under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). ABTC is now EPA approved as one of the only battery recyclers in the Western U.S. capable of receiving batteries that have been damaged and classified as CERCLA waste, such as battery materials that have been involved in large-scale BESS thermal events and fires.
"This unprecedented cleanup effort highlights the critical importance of building and deploying advanced domestic critical mineral recycling infrastructure capable of addressing the growing challenges of managing damaged lithium-ion batteries in a safe and responsible manner," said Ryan Melsert, CEO of ABTC. “We are proud that we have established ABTC as one of the only recyclers in the Western US to be capable of receiving CERCLA materials, and that we have already been processing truckloads of CERCLA material from this project for the past several weeks. This effort is not just about safely recycling damaged batteries—it’s about answering President Trump’s call to action for implementing Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production through demonstrating how U.S.-based infrastructure can rise to return these critical minerals back to the domestic manufacturing supply chain.”
This project demonstrates the critical importance of domestic battery management and critical mineral recycling infrastructure as energy storage systems for datacenters supporting artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cybersecurity expand across the United States. ABTC's internally developed recycling technologies can recover valuable critical materials, including lithium, cobalt, nickel, aluminum, steel, and copper, from damaged batteries, preventing these resources from entering landfills while supporting the establishment of a closed-loop U.S. critical mineral manufacturing supply chain.
The EPA is overseeing the complex logistics of battery characterization, transportation, and delivery to ABTC's Nevada facility. The damaged batteries vary in condition, from intact units to severely compromised materials requiring immediate processing to ensure safety compliance. At current market prices, if ABTC were to process all of the battery materials from the site, the value of recycled products generated from these materials is estimated at approximately $30 million.
This unprecedented operation highlights the growing need for specialized battery recycling capabilities as electric vehicles, grid storage systems, and consumer electronics continue to proliferate. The work being done on this clean-up between industry leaders and regulators is establishing safety and materials management standards for future large-scale battery facilities while demonstrating the viability of domestic recycling solutions for critical battery materials.
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