The two-wheeler challenge
Electric scooters and motorcycles use small packs, often a few kilowatt-hours, and are sold in very large numbers. Ownership is spread across individuals and small businesses, and batteries are replaced at many independent points. That makes them easy to lose to informal channels.
In India, where two-wheelers account for a large share of electric vehicles, producers have obligations under the Battery Waste Management Rules 2022 to meet collection and recycling targets. Meeting those targets depends on reaching batteries before they disappear into the informal market.
Building a collection network
Dealers and authorised service centres see most battery replacements, so they are the obvious aggregation points. Giving them approved storage, simple packaging and an easy booking process lets them hold batteries safely until a consolidated collection is worthwhile.
Incentives help. Buy-back offers or discounts on replacement packs encourage owners to hand in old batteries through official channels rather than selling them for cash to informal buyers.
- Equip dealers with approved storage and packaging
- Offer buy-back or exchange incentives to owners
- Schedule consolidated pickups across dealer clusters
- Track serial numbers from sale to collection
Processing and reporting
Two-wheeler packs typically contain small modules or cylindrical cells, which are often routed to refining because harvesting them for second life is less economic. Some higher-quality modules can still be graded for low-power storage.
Producers need certificates from registered recyclers to demonstrate compliance with their obligations. Serial-level records linking sales to collection and recycling make reporting straightforward and help identify where batteries are leaking out of the system.
Field note