Haldia, West Bengal hydrometallurgical refinery
How Kolkata — Haldia Refining Works turns black mass into battery-grade salts — inputs, process chemistry, outputs and where its feed comes from.
Throughput
15,000 TPA
Process stages
6
Feeder sites nearby
6
Operating since
2020
From black mass to battery-grade salts
- 1
Feed assay & sampling
Incoming black mass is homogenised and assayed by ICP-OES for Li, Ni, Co, Mn, Cu, Al and fluoride before it is released to leach.
- 2
Sulphuric acid leaching
Two-stage leach at 60–85 °C with peroxide reductant dissolves cathode metals at 96–99% extraction efficiency.
- 3
Impurity removal
Iron, aluminium and copper are precipitated and filtered; graphite is recovered as a separate low-ash cake.
- 4
Solvent extraction trains
Sequential Co, Ni and Mn circuits with counter-current mixer-settlers deliver individual metal raffinates.
- 5
Crystallisation & drying
Nickel and cobalt sulphate hexahydrate plus lithium carbonate are crystallised to 99.5%+ battery grade and bagged under nitrogen.
- 6
Batch certification
Every batch ships with a certificate of analysis, mass balance and chain-of-custody record for EPR and IRA reporting.
Acceptance criteria
| Criterion | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Accepted feed | Black mass, cathode scrap, sealed drums |
| Moisture limit | Agreed per contract, deducted from payable weight |
| Sampling | Homogenised and split, assayed by ICP-OES |
| Documentation | Assay certificate, manifest, waste-shipment consent where required |
Products leaving the plant
| Stream | Product |
|---|---|
| Lithium | Carbonate or hydroxide, battery grade |
| Nickel | Sulphate hexahydrate, battery grade |
| Cobalt | Sulphate heptahydrate, battery grade |
| By-products | Graphite cake, copper and aluminium residues |
Why Haldia, West Bengal
Haldia is a port and petrochemical town on the Hooghly estuary, with long experience of chemical handling and bulk shipping. The refining works opened in the Haldia Industrial Growth Centre in 2020 to give eastern India a hydrometallurgical outlet close to both industrial reagent supply and port access, so black mass produced in the east does not have to cross the country to be refined.
With 15,000 TPA of capacity, the works receives black mass rather than packs, drawing feed from eastern collection yards, integrated campuses and registered third-party processors. It turns that feed into battery-grade salts, and its port location supports shipping those products to cathode and cell makers as well as receiving permitted intermediates for further refining. Assay results are shared with consignors before settlement is finalised.
Permitting
Battery Waste Management Rules 2022 (BWMR)
The works operates under West Bengal Pollution Control Board consent, with conditions on effluent treatment, air emissions and hazardous chemical storage. As a registered recycler it generates recovery evidence under the Battery Waste Management Rules 2022, and port shipments follow customs and applicable waste-shipment controls.
Technical strengths
Chemical-port setting
Located in an industrial town already used to handling acids, reagents and bulk shipments safely.
Eastern refining outlet
Shortens the journey for black mass produced in eastern India.
Certified batch output
Refined salts ship with analysis certificates and mass balance records.
Sites that feed Haldia, West Bengal
Black mass arrives from these campuses, yards and grading plants.
Haldia, West Bengal plant: technical questions
Does the refinery accept whole battery packs?
No. Whole packs are received at intake yards and campuses, discharged and shredded; the refinery receives the resulting black mass.
How is black mass priced here?
Against an agreed assay, with payable percentages per metal and deductions for moisture and impurities. Sampling is witnessed or split on request.
Does Haldia accept EV packs?
No. The works is a refinery and receives only black mass and cathode scrap.
Why is the refinery in Haldia?
Haldia's port and chemical infrastructure supports reagent supply and shipment of refined products to manufacturers.
Damaged or defective packs are handled under a separate quarantine protocol — flag them in the form and the team calls you back the same day.
Have black mass to place?
Share assay, tonnage and location for an indicative payable and an intake slot.