What the site does
Zaheerabad, west of Hyderabad, hosts a node of the National Investment and Manufacturing Zone, and the surrounding area has established vehicle and tractor manufacturing. The recovery campus opened there in 2021 to process material from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and neighbouring parts of Karnataka and Maharashtra, a region with growing electric bus programmes and commercial vehicle production. Its catchment covers several fast-growing state bus programmes.
As a 17,000 TPA integrated campus, it handles the complete route from intake to black mass on one site. Hyderabad's electric bus and fleet programmes, together with commercial vehicle manufacturing nearby, give the campus a larger share of heavy packs than most Indian sites, so its disassembly bays and lifting equipment are sized for bus and truck battery systems. Smaller packs share the same intake lines.
What arrives at the gate
Feedstock at Zaheerabad, Telangana reflects its catchment and plant type. Every consignment is weighed, photographed and logged against the originating manifest before it enters the process area.
- Electric bus and commercial vehicle packs
- Hyderabad fleet and ride-hailing retirements
- Manufacturing scrap from regional vehicle plants
- Two-wheeler packs from Telangana dealer networks
The process, step by step
The 3 operating lines — automated disassembly, cell grading & second-life build, black mass production — run the sequence below.
| Stage | What happens |
|---|---|
| Intake inspection | Packs are logged, thermally scanned and quarantined if damaged, defective or water-exposed. |
| Safe discharge | Residual energy is recovered to the site microgrid before any mechanical work begins. |
| Automated disassembly | Robotic cells remove housings, cooling plates and wiring for separate material streams. |
| Grading split | Modules above 75% SOH move to second-life build; everything else is shredded under inert atmosphere. |
| Black mass production | Shredding, drying and multi-stage separation produce a graphite-rich black mass at controlled moisture. |
| Refining handover | Black mass is assayed, sealed and shipped to the assigned hydrometallurgical refinery. |
What sets the site apart
Heavy-pack handling. Cranes and disassembly bays sized for bus and truck battery systems weighing several tonnes.
Full on-site route. Grading, disassembly and black mass production all happen on the same campus.
Deccan catchment. Serves Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and nearby districts of Karnataka and Maharashtra.
Where material goes next
Material that Zaheerabad, Telangana does not finish on site moves to the nearest specialist facility in the network, keeping transport distances and dwell times down.
| Facility | Role | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Bengaluru — Hosur Diagnostics Centre | Cell Grading & Diagnostics | 550 km |
| Nagpur — Butibori Second-Life Works | Second-Life BESS Works | 387 km |
| Visakhapatnam — Atchutapuram Refinery | Hydrometallurgical Refinery | 558 km |
Field note