American Battery Technology Company has been selected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to recycle end-of-life lithium-ion batteries from the largest battery cleanup of its kind in American history.
The battery cleanup, valued at an estimated $30 million, centres on the safe processing of damaged battery materials and the return of recycled minerals into the supply chain.
ABTC, an integrated battery materials company, has expanded its Nevada facility to handle large-scale shipments of damaged batteries. The project follows a fire at a grid-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) in Northern California in January 2025, which left around 100,000 modules requiring specialist treatment. In spring 2025, ABTC successfully completed a rigorous EPA audit, gaining approval under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). This makes ABTC one of the few recyclers in the Western US authorised to process batteries damaged in thermal events and fires.
“We are proud that we have established ABTC as one of the only recyclers in the Western US to be capable of receiving CERCLA materials, and that we have already been processing truckloads of CERCLA material from this project for the past several weeks”, said Ryan Melsert, CEO of ABTC.
ABTC’s recycling technologies recover lithium, cobalt, nickel, aluminium, steel, and copper, preventing landfill disposal while supporting a closed-loop US mineral supply chain. The EPA continues to oversee logistics, ensuring safe transport and processing of materials ranging from intact modules to severely compromised units.
