Lithium battery recycling for companies in Chile

Ecobaterías collects, receives and manages the recycling of lithium-ion batteries from companies and institutions anywhere in Chile. Intake costs 22 UF per tonne plus VAT (19%); pickup, transport and packaging are quoted separately. Every batch is weighed, sorted and tracked in SIDREP, Chile’s national hazardous-waste declaration and tracking system, with a valorization certificate for your reporting under Chile’s Extended Producer Responsibility law (Ley REP, Law No. 20,920).

Which lithium batteries do we accept, and which don’t we?

We accept lithium-ion batteries of any size and every lithium-ion chemistry: LFP (lithium iron phosphate), NMC (nickel manganese cobalt), NCA (nickel cobalt aluminum), LCO (lithium cobalt oxide) and LTO (lithium titanate). The price of 22 UF per tonne plus VAT applies to all of them. Lithium metal (non-rechargeable) batteries and batteries of other chemistries, such as lead-acid or NiMH, are quoted separately.

Swipe to see the full table

BESS stands for battery energy storage system. If you are an individual with a few batteries, see where to recycle lithium batteries in Chile: this page covers batches from companies, fleets and institutions.

How much does lithium battery recycling cost?

Intake of lithium-ion batteries for recycling costs 22 UF per tonne plus VAT (19%). The UF is Chile’s inflation-indexed accounting unit, published daily by the Central Bank: the amount is calculated with the UF value on the invoice date and paid by bank transfer against invoice. Pickup, transport and packaging are quoted separately. It is the same price published on the services page.

• We do not buy lithium batteries: the material value does not cover the cost of the process. Modules suitable for second life are quoted separately.
• What drives the pickup cost: distance, weight, number of packages, battery condition and the packaging they need. Across the industry, logistics can reach 40–50% of the total cost of recycling.
• Minimum volume and pickup date: confirmed in the quote, before the order is accepted.

Source for the logistics cost: Materials (MDPI), 2026 · Price: Ecobaterías, valid as of 2026-09-26

What does the recycling service include?

Swipe to see the full table

Before recycling, we check whether the battery still works

Recycling is the last route. When the batch arrives we inspect and sort it. If there are packs or modules that may still hold value, such as BESS or electric vehicle modules, we offer a state-of-health test before recycling them. State of health (SOH) is the battery’s current capacity compared with its capacity when new. Testing includes reading the BMS, the electronic system that controls the battery and stores its history, and is quoted separately.

Source: Ecobaterías testing protocol · our own thresholds, not a standard · 2026-09-18. Damaged batteries: ETH Zürich. Over-discharge: Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, Annex V.

A battery that is swollen, leaking, has melted areas or heats up while switched off is not repaired. Neither is an over-discharged one: according to the EU Battery Regulation, even minor over-discharge can form dendrites and end in an internal short circuit. Checking before recycling also counts under the EPR law: the draft battery decree proposes that at least 30% of the lithium-ion target be met through preparation for reuse.

How are lithium batteries recycled?

Recycling a battery means using its materials as input or raw material for another production process; Law 20,920 (art. 3 No. 23) separates it from energy recovery. Across the industry, the process has five steps:

1. Discharge. Each cell is brought below 2.5 V before shredding: shredding charged cells causes short circuits and a risk of explosion.
2. Dismantling. The pack is split into modules and cells; casings, cables and electronics come out.
3. Shredding and separation. Cells are shredded under an inert atmosphere or in a wet process, and copper, aluminum, steel and the plastic separator are separated.
4. Black mass. What remains is a black powder with the active material of the cathode and anode: lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite, depending on the chemistry. According to Aqua Metals, it makes up 40–50% of the weight of an electric vehicle battery.
5. Hydrometallurgy. The black mass is dissolved in acid and the metals are separated by precipitation or solvent extraction, down to nickel and cobalt sulfates and lithium salts. This route accounted for more than 90% of global material recovery capacity in 2023. The alternative, pyrometallurgy, smelts the material at 1,200–1,450 °C: it recovers cobalt, nickel and copper in an alloy, but lithium and aluminum end up in the slag and the graphite burns.

Sources: IEA, Recycling of Critical Minerals · Garg et al., Sustainable Energy & Fuels, 2024 · Aqua Metals · Nanomaterials, 2025 · Waste Management, 2025 · Andritz

What is recovered depends on the cathode chemistry. In NMC and NCA batteries the value is in nickel, cobalt and lithium. In LFP only the lithium has value: at August 2024 prices, recycling it lost money in the United States and made a profit in China.

Swipe to see the full table

Sources: IEA, Recycling of Critical Minerals · ChemPhysChem, 2024 · Fastmarkets

As an international reference, Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 requires lithium battery recycling to reach 65% efficiency by weight by December 31, 2025 and 70% by December 31, 2030, and to recover 50% of the lithium by 2027 and 80% by 2031, and 90% of the cobalt, copper, nickel and lead by 2027 and 95% by 2031 (Annex XII). In Chile, the draft battery decree proposes that at least 75% of the valorization output be used as raw material.

Sources: Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, Annex XII · Draft battery decree, Ministry of the Environment (Res. Ex. 821/2026)

What happens to your batch after pickup?

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.

Valorization is the legal term: under Law 20,920 (art. 3 No. 30), it covers preparation for reuse, recycling and energy recovery. If hazardous waste leaves the country, the Basel Convention applies: Chile accepted its Ban Amendment in 2009, so it can only export hazardous waste to OECD or European Union countries, with the prior consent of the receiving country.

Sources: Law 20,920, Library of the National Congress of Chile · Basel Action Network, country status · ChileAtiende, transboundary movement of hazardous waste

To see a complete hydrometallurgical route, read about the process we operated in Lampa and the guide on what black mass is. Solar panels have their own solar panel recycling service.

How do you hand over lithium batteries for recycling?

1. Request a quote Tell us the battery type, the chemistry if you know it, weight or number of units, condition and location. We reply within 48 business hours with the intake price, pickup and packaging.
2. Sort and protect Cover the terminals with non-conductive tape and set aside swollen, dented or leaking batteries. Do not dismantle packs.
3. Pack by condition Intact batteries go in a strong box or drum marked “LITHIUM BATTERIES FOR RECYCLING”; damaged ones each go in their own inner packaging with non-combustible insulation. Details are in the packaging table.
4. Prepare the documents Safety data sheet, a dispatch note with the UN number of the load (UN 3480 for lithium-ion batteries shipped on their own, class 9) and the SIDREP declaration at dispatch.
5. Hand over the batch at pickup We coordinate pickup at your site with licensed hazardous-waste transport. Check that packages are labeled and documents are at hand.
6. Receive the documents We send you the intake record with the batch weight and, at close-out, the valorization certificate for your reporting.

The full guide, with a checklist, is in how to prepare lithium batteries for recycling. Logistics are covered in collection and transport of batteries and panels.

Packaging and safety by battery condition

In Chile, road transport of dangerous goods is governed by Supreme Decree (DS) 298/1994, which since 2022 classifies and labels according to the United Nations Recommendations. Lithium-ion batteries travel as UN 3480 when shipped on their own, or UN 3481 when contained in or packed with equipment; both are class 9, miscellaneous dangerous goods. For recycling, the packaging rules are these:

Swipe to see the full table

Sources: DS 298/1994, Library of the National Congress of Chile · RID 2025 (OTIF), harmonized with the UN Model Regulations · IATA, Lithium Battery Guidance Document 2026

Damaged or defective batteries that can generate heat, fire or a short circuit are not allowed on aircraft. By road, special provision 377 does not require the UN 38.3 test summary, the safety test for new batteries. If you have no packaging, we quote it together with the pickup.

While you wait for pickup

• Cover the terminals with non-conductive tape, one by one.
• Keep damaged batteries in a plastic container with sand or vermiculite, apart from healthy ones.
• Store the batch under a roof, dry and ventilated, away from combustible material.
• Do not dismantle packs: the draft battery decree asks to avoid dismantling during collection and storage, so their second-life potential is not lost.
• Supreme Decree (DS) 148/2003, Chile’s health regulation on hazardous waste, allows hazardous waste to be stored for up to 6 months, extendable by another 6 with a technical report.

If a battery heats up, smokes or swells quickly: move away, isolate the area within 15 meters, cool it with plenty of water only if it is safe to do so, and call the fire department (Bomberos, 132). An ABC fire extinguisher does not stop thermal runaway. A damaged battery can reignite hours or days later: the NTSB documented one case five days after the crash.

Sources: US EPA, Battery Collection Tip Sheet · NTSB, Safety Report SR-20/01 · DS 148/2003, art. 31 · Draft battery decree (Res. Ex. 821/2026)

Which documents go with the recycling?

In Chile, a discarded lithium battery is handled as hazardous waste unless a characterization shows otherwise: List A of DS 148 includes “unsorted waste batteries” (A1170). That is why every shipment carries these documents:

Swipe to see the full table

Sources: DS 148/2003, Library of the National Congress of Chile · DS 298/1994 · SIDREP, Ministry of Health · SIDREP instructions

How the batch is declared in SIDREP. Your company, as the generator, starts the document at dispatch; the carrier signs it on accepting the load and EcoBaterías SpA, as the receiving facility, closes it on receiving the load at its site. SIDREP’s predefined list has no specific entry for lithium-ion batteries: they are declared as “Other”, with the applicable codes from lists I, II and III of DS 148. If your company is not registered yet, registration is requested through the RETC Single Window (Ventanilla Única del RETC), Chile’s pollutant release and transfer register. We give you the batch data to complete the declaration. DS 148 requires the generator to keep its copy for 2 years.

Coverage and pickup across Chile’s regions

We coordinate pickup with licensed hazardous-waste transport in every region, from Arica y Parinacota to Magallanes. The intake price is the same anywhere in Chile; what changes is the freight.

Swipe to see the full table

The pickup date is confirmed in the quote. For storage systems and fleets, see also end-of-life BESS and electric bus batteries.

Which rules apply to lithium battery recycling?

Swipe to see the full table

Sources: Law 20,920 · DS 148/2003 · DS 298/1994 · DS 29/2024 · Res. Ex. 821/2026 · Ministry of the Environment, deadline extension (Res. Ex. 4,225/2026)

If you are comparing providers, see what to require from an authorized lithium battery waste manager and the guide to Chile’s EPR law for batteries. Market figures are in Chile battery statistics, and technical terms in the glossary.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to recycle lithium batteries?

Intake of lithium-ion batteries for recycling costs 22 UF per tonne plus VAT, calculated with the UF value on the invoice date. Pickup, transport and packaging are quoted separately, based on distance, weight, number of packages and battery condition. We reply within 48 business hours with the total.

Do you pay for used lithium batteries?

No. Ecobaterías does not buy lithium batteries: the material value does not cover the cost of collecting, conditioning and valorizing them. In LFP batteries only the lithium has recycling value. Modules that can still serve a second life are assessed and quoted separately.

Can lithium batteries be recycled?

Yes. They are discharged, dismantled and shredded to separate copper, aluminum and steel from the black mass, which then goes through hydrometallurgy to recover nickel, cobalt and lithium. In Chile, the Ministry of the Environment estimates that close to 0% of lithium-ion batteries are recycled today.

How are lithium batteries recycled?

In five steps: each cell is discharged below 2.5 V, the pack is dismantled, the cells are shredded and the metals separated, black mass is obtained, and hydrometallurgy turns it into 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.

Which companies recycle lithium batteries in Chile?

Ecobaterías collects, receives and manages the recycling of lithium-ion batteries from companies anywhere in Chile, at 22 UF per tonne plus VAT. Law 20,920 requires waste to be handed to an authorized waste manager, unless the company manages it itself: ask any company you assess for the health permits of the carrier and of the receiving facility, the final destination of the material and how the batch is declared in SIDREP.

How are electric car batteries recycled?

First the pack is tested: if it still holds capacity, it can be repaired or moved to a second life. What cannot be reused is discharged, dismantled into modules and cells and follows the shredding, black mass and hydrometallurgy route. For transport, an intact pack of 12 kg or more travels in strong outer packaging, a crate or on a pallet (P909); a damaged one travels under special provision 376, alone in its packaging (LP904).

What should I do with a swollen lithium battery?

Do not charge it, puncture it or try to take it apart. Store it on its own in a plastic container with sand or vermiculite, under a roof and ventilated, away from combustible material. Tell us it is damaged: it travels under UN special provision 376 with P908 packaging, and it cannot go by air.

Which certificate do you issue?

An intake record with the batch weight and a valorization certificate with the tonnage and the authorized destination of the batch. The shipment is also tracked in SIDREP. These documents support your hazardous-waste reporting and your Law 20,920 reporting.

Does my company need a hazardous waste management plan?

Yes, if it generates more than 12 kilograms a year of acutely toxic waste or more than 12 tonnes a year of other hazardous waste (DS 148, art. 25). The plan is prepared by a professional and filed with the Seremi de Salud, Chile’s regional health authority. Even without a plan, you must hand your waste to transport and facilities with a health permit (art. 27).

More answers in the FAQ on batteries and solar panels. All services are on services for lithium batteries and solar panels.

Sources