Frequently asked questions: lithium batteries and solar panels

If you are a company or institution, Ecobaterías collects, receives and manages the recycling of your lithium-ion batteries anywhere in Chile, with a certificate for your Law 20,920 reporting. If you have a few batteries at home, the guide where to recycle lithium batteries in Chile explains how to prepare them and where to drop them off. For company batches, the full service is in lithium battery recycling.

Lithium-ion batteries of any format and chemistry: LFP (lithium iron phosphate), NMC (nickel manganese cobalt), NCA (nickel cobalt aluminum), LCO (lithium cobalt oxide) and LTO (lithium titanate). We accept everything from phone, laptop and power tool batteries to electric car and bus packs and modules from battery energy storage systems (BESS). Lead-acid, nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) and other chemistries are quoted separately; the full table is in which batteries we accept.

In the industry, each cell is discharged below 2.5 V, the pack is dismantled and the cells are shredded to separate copper, aluminum and other metal parts from the black mass, the powder that holds the active material of the cathode and anode; hydrometallurgy dissolves it in acid to obtain nickel and cobalt sulfates and lithium salts. We condition the batch (discharge, dismantling and sorting) and manage its valorization with authorized waste managers, in Chile or in OECD countries where applicable; EcoBaterías SpA closes the SIDREP declaration as the receiving facility and issues the valorization certificate. In LFP batteries only the lithium has recycling value; the breakdown by chemistry is in lithium battery recycling.

No. We do not buy used lithium batteries: intake for recycling costs 22 UF per tonne plus VAT, and pickup is quoted based on the batch. Modules that can still serve a second life are assessed with a state-of-health test and quoted separately.

Do not charge, puncture or open it: store it on its own in a plastic container with sand or vermiculite, under a roof and away from combustible material, and tell us before pickup, because it travels as a damaged battery (UN special provision 376, P908 packaging, or P911 if it could react dangerously). If it heats up or smokes, move away, keep a 15-meter (50-foot) perimeter, cool it with plenty of water only if it is safe to do so and call the fire department (Bomberos, 132): an ABC extinguisher does not stop thermal runaway. A damaged battery can reignite hours or days later; packaging for each case is in collection and transport.

Yes, when the fault is in the BMS (the electronics that measure and protect the cells), a fuse, a contactor or a connector, or in a weak cell or module. According to Autocraft EV Solutions, in 559 electric car pack repairs done in 2024, 92% of the modules were still fit for use and an average of 1.1 modules per pack had to be replaced. Every repair starts with testing and ends with a capacity test; details are in lithium battery repair.

Swollen or leaking batteries, those with melted areas or burn marks, those that get hot while switched off, and those over-discharged or sitting at 0 V: over-discharge oxidizes the copper current collector and can end in an internal short circuit. All of them go to recycling. We also do not repair lead-acid or nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries, the chemistry used in several generations of the Toyota Prius: we work only with lithium-ion.

Yes, if they are lithium-ion: we replace the BMS, the charging port or weak cell groups, balance the pack and return it with its capacity test. A 36 V e-bike pack has 10 cell groups in series and a 48 V pack has 13. We serve individuals and companies, take in batteries in Santiago and Viña del Mar and coordinate drop-off or pickup; see which batteries we repair.

Repair fixes a specific fault, such as the BMS, a contactor or a module. Refurbishment means taking the pack apart, measuring every cell or module, replacing the weak ones, balancing and closing with a capacity test; we do it when the state of health (SOH) is 80% or more (see lithium battery refurbishment). Remanufacturing also requires, under Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, reaching 90% or more of the original capacity with cells whose state of health differs by no more than 3%, and the UL 1974 standard treats “remanufactured,” “reconditioned” and “rebuilt” as equivalent.

It is agreed in each contract, based on the capacity measured in the output test: we do not publish a fixed term. If you buy as a consumer, Chile’s consumer protection law (Law 19,496) also applies: we tell you in writing that the product is refurbished (art. 14), and the legal warranty is 6 months (art. 21, as amended by Law 21,398). Between companies, the contract governs; more in refurbishment.

It means using a battery’s modules or cells in an application other than the original one, for example stationary storage built with modules from an electric car or bus; Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 calls it “repurposing,” and IEC 63330-1:2024 sets its general requirements. In our protocol, modules qualify if they have no mechanical damage or thermal event and a measured state of health between 65% and 80%. Above 80%, refurbishing them for the same use makes more sense, and below 65%, recycling them; see second-life batteries.

It is the name we use for giving value back to an unused battery or panel through repair, refurbishment, second life or recycling. The Chilean legal term is valorization (Law 20,920, art. 3 No. 30), which covers preparation for reuse, recycling and energy recovery. More definitions in the technical glossary.

Chile’s electricity and fuels regulator (SEC) requires lithium-ion batteries in a storage system, and their management system (BMS), to meet IEC 62619, UL 1973 or UL 9540 (technical instruction RGR No. 06/2024), and that instruction does not mention used or second-life batteries. That is why we recommend consulting the SEC before designing a battery energy storage system (BESS) with second-life modules, and defining the installation and its filing with a licensed electrical installer; more context in second-life batteries.

Santiago has more than 4,000 electric buses (February 2026), and their packs, like the racks of a battery energy storage system (BESS), are tested module by module. Modules that keep 80% or more of their capacity are refurbished, those at 65% to 80% move to a second life and the rest are recycled with a valorization certificate. Details are in electric bus batteries and end-of-life BESS.

It depends on the module and its history, which is why it gets measured. The median degradation NREL found in about 2,000 measurements is 0.5% per year, and in Brazil, according to the Federal University of Santa Catarina, 23-year-old polycrystalline modules still delivered 87–88% of their nameplate power. Solar panel testing measures the actual power of each module.

With three tests: the I-V (current-voltage) curve, which measures the panel’s power and is corrected to standard test conditions of 1,000 W/m² and 25 °C to compare it with the nameplate; electroluminescence, an image taken in the dark that reveals microcracks and inactive cells; and the insulation test, which shows whether it is safe. If the open-circuit voltage reads 2/3 or 1/3 of the nameplate value, groups of cells are disconnected and the bypass diodes, which route current around a failed cell group, need checking. In the lab, our testing protocol takes 6 minutes per module.

It depends on what is broken: the junction box, bypass diodes, connectors, cables and frame can be repaired, with testing before and after, and IEA-PVPS rates these as mature repairs. Broken glass cannot be fixed, because it no longer guarantees electrical insulation, and the SEC prohibits installing modules with breaks or cracks: that panel goes to recycling. We repair photovoltaic modules, not inverters; see solar panel repair.

The SEC authorizes modules by brand and model, with IEC 61215 and IEC 61730 certificates for the new product, and has no route to authorize used or refurbished modules; off-grid systems must also use authorized models (ITG RIC No. 9.1). Every module we sell keeps its brand, model and nameplate, and the installation filed with the SEC is defined by the licensed electrical installer. We recommend consulting the SEC before connecting; more in refurbished solar panels.

A 1-year seller’s warranty, in writing, on modules sold with their measured power, electroluminescence image and insulation test. Before the sale we state in writing that they are used or refurbished products (Law 19,496, art. 14); if you buy as a consumer, the 6-month legal warranty also applies. The classes and the per-module data sheet are in refurbished solar panels.

First the aluminum frame, junction box and cables are removed; then the glass is separated from the cell layer by shredding, a hot knife at 180–200 °C or pyrolysis, and silver, copper and silicon are recovered. By weight, a silicon panel is 76% glass, 10% polymers, 8% aluminum, 5% silicon and 1% copper, with less than 0.1% silver. Before recycling, we test the batch to separate what still works; see solar panel recycling.

Only individuals or companies with a health permit from the Seremi de Salud (Chile’s regional health authority) of their main address, valid throughout Chile (DS 148, art. 36), and the generator must hand its waste only to authorized transport and facilities (art. 27). We coordinate pickup with licensed hazardous-waste transport. Before handing over a batch, ask for the health permit number of the carrier and of the receiving facility; more criteria in what to ask of an authorized waste manager.

As class 9 dangerous goods: UN 3480 when shipped loose and UN 3481 when contained in or packed with equipment, with the 9A lithium battery label; in Chile this is required by Supreme Decree (DS) 298/1994, which since 2022 classifies and labels according to the UN. Intact batteries going to recycling travel under special provision 377, P909 packaging and the mark “LITHIUM BATTERIES FOR RECYCLING”; damaged ones under special provision 376 and P908 packaging, or P911 if they could react dangerously. Damaged batteries cannot travel by air; packaging for each case is in collection and transport.

Panels are not UN dangerous goods, but according to Chile’s Ministry of Energy an unused or damaged panel is handled as hazardous waste unless it is declassified under DS 148: that batch travels with licensed hazardous-waste transport and a SIDREP declaration. Undamaged panels going to reuse that have not been declared waste travel as regular freight, on pallets, without excessive stacking and kept apart from broken ones. The step-by-step process is in collection and transport of batteries and panels.

Up to six months (DS 148, art. 31); in justified cases, the health authority can extend the period by up to the same length with a technical report. Meanwhile, the storage area must be roofed, with an impermeable floor, a perimeter fence of at least 1.80 m and spill containment (art. 33). It is best to schedule the pickup before the deadline.

Yes. We coordinate pickup with licensed hazardous-waste transport in every region, from Arica y Parinacota to Magallanes. The battery intake price is the same across Chile; freight and date are confirmed in the quote, and outside Santiago it pays to consolidate a larger batch into a single pickup.

It is Law 20,920, Chile’s Extended Producer Responsibility law, in force since 2016. It defines priority products, including batteries, pilas (small batteries) and electrical and electronic equipment, whose collection and valorization targets are set by a decree for each product, and it requires every waste generator to hand its waste to an authorized waste manager, unless it manages the waste itself as the law allows (art. 5). The full guide is in Chile’s EPR law and batteries.

Battery targets are not yet in force: the draft decree (Exempt Resolution 821/2026) proposes 15% in year three and 50% from year ten for lithium-ion, with at least 30% of the target met through preparation for reuse, and the Ministry of the Environment’s deadline to propose the decree is January 29, 2027. What is already mandatory is handling a discarded battery as hazardous waste unless a characterization shows otherwise: list A of DS 148 includes “unsorted waste batteries” (A1170). That means an authorized waste manager, licensed transport and a SIDREP declaration.

It sets collection and valorization targets for photovoltaic modules, enforceable from May 2028: 10% in year three (2030) and 50% from year ten (2037), measured against each year’s estimated waste. It was published on May 7, 2026, and also covers pilas and electrical and electronic equipment. Installations above 1 MW will have to report their panels in use every year, before May 31, to the RETC (Chile’s Pollutant Release and Transfer Register); see DS 22/2025 and solar panels.

It is Chile’s national hazardous-waste declaration and tracking system (Sistema de Declaración y Seguimiento de Residuos Peligrosos), run by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of the Environment, where every shipment is declared. The generator declares when handing over the load, the carrier when accepting it and the receiving facility when receiving it, at which point the record is “closed”; registration is requested through the RETC single window (Ventanilla Única del RETC). Lithium-ion batteries have no entry of their own in its waste table: the usual practice is to declare them as “Otros” (other), with the DS 148 codes that apply; see pickup documents.

For every batch we issue an intake, traceability and valorization certificate for your Law 20,920 reporting or, for panels, DS 22/2025 reporting, with the batch weight and the destination of each fraction. The shipment is tracked in SIDREP, and the receiving facility must confirm receipt to the generator within 24 hours (DS 148, art. 83). For testing and repair we also issue a technical report for each unit; see documents we provide.

Yes, if it generates more than 12 tonnes a year of hazardous waste other than acutely toxic waste, or more than 12 kg a year of acutely toxic waste (DS 148, art. 25); the plan is filed with the Seremi de Salud. Below those thresholds no plan is required, but the company must still hand its waste to transport and facilities with a health permit (art. 27). The generator’s other obligations are covered in authorized battery waste manager.

22 UF per tonne plus VAT for the intake of lithium-ion batteries, at the UF value on the invoice date and paid by bank transfer against invoice: it is our published intake price. Pickup, transport and packaging are quoted separately, based on distance, weight, number of packages and battery condition.

It is confirmed in the quote, after testing, because it depends on the format, chemistry, fault and parts. For reference, in the United States replacing the full battery of an out-of-warranty electric car costs between US$5,000 and US$16,000, according to Recurrent; when the fault is in one or two modules, those modules are replaced instead of the whole pack.

It is quoted per batch, based on the number of modules, their condition, the distance and the loading logistics. For reference, the European QUASAR project estimated a recycling cost of EUR 100–120 per tonne in 2024. Before quoting panel recycling we test the batch, because modules that are reused avoid that cost.

A battery takes between 30 minutes and 6 hours per pack, depending on the test: reading the BMS and measuring internal resistance are quick, and the capacity test takes the longest. A photovoltaic module takes 6 minutes in the lab, with 50 to 100 modules per day. These are test times, not delivery times: we reply to your request within 48 business hours and the test date is confirmed in the quote; see battery testing and panel testing.

We work two lines, lithium-ion batteries and photovoltaic modules, with the same steps in each: testing, repair, refurbishment, second life or reuse, and recycling. On top of that, we coordinate pickup with licensed hazardous-waste transport and manage the modules removed when solar plants are repowered. All of them are in services for lithium batteries and solar panels.

Ecobaterías operated a hydrometallurgical plant in Lampa, in the Santiago Metropolitan Region, under a health permit from the Seremi de Salud of the Metropolitan Region for the hydrometallurgical process; its new plant is under review by the Seremi de Salud RM. We condition the batch (discharge, dismantling and sorting) and manage its valorization with authorized waste managers, in Chile or in OECD countries where applicable; EcoBaterías SpA closes the SIDREP declaration as the receiving facility and issues the valorization certificate. A battery’s path is described in the process we operated in Lampa.

Our recycled cobalt sulfate was successfully tested at the hydrometallurgical plant of Codelco El Teniente (testing from November 2023; results published in July 2024): 22% lower cost than imported sulfate, 40% lower consumption and one daily addition instead of three. The El Rancagüino article does not name the supplier; the documentation identifying Ecobaterías is available under a confidentiality agreement. Ecobaterías started as a spin-off of SolarPro Chile and EcoProjects (EcoMinería); more in experience.

No. We cite them as references for the test method: IEC 63330-1:2024 and UL 1974 for battery second life, and IEC 61215, IEC 61730, IEC TS 60904-13 and IEC TS 62446-3 for panels. Each report states what was measured and against which criterion, and the company’s permits are in compliance and permits.

We take in batteries in Santiago and Viña del Mar and serve all of Chile; drop-offs and pickups are arranged in advance. Write to us through the contact form, on WhatsApp (opens in a new tab), by phone at +56 9 4011 8111 or at contacto@ecobaterias.org, with the type of battery or panel, the quantity or weight, the condition and the location. We reply within 48 business hours.