Global recycled lead battery mkt to touch USD 12 bn by 2022

The global market of recycled lead battery is expected to grow 6.5 per cent annually to USD 11.83 billion by 2022 driven by demand from countries like India and Australia, apex mineral body FIMI has said.

The demand is coming from both automotive and industrial sectors from all over the world and players of these sectors require lead batteries in huge amount, Sunil Duggal, the newly-appointed President of Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI), said.

"Global market of recycled lead battery is expanding. It is expected to grow to USD 11.83 billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 6.5 per cent from 2017 to 2022," he said.

The demand for recycled batteries is coming from Europe and countries like India, Australia, Brazil, China, Mexico, and China, Duggal said.

The concept of recycling a battery is a boon for the environment. Batteries comprise metals and heavy metals such as lead, mercury, nickel, and cadmium which can contaminate soil, underground and surface water resources if they go into landfills, said Duggal, who is also the CEO of Hindustan Zinc.

The recycling of lead acid batteries thus protects the environment. Lead can be recycled infinite number of times, he added.

"Globally, the automotive market is on course to cross the 100 million units threshold in 2019. India, now the world's 4th largest automobile market, has outpaced Germany with 9.5 per cent growth in sales.

"India is likely to continue to expand its automotive market by nearly 10 per cent a year and will overtake Japan by 2020 which stands at third place as of now," he said.

Expansion of the automotive industry in China, India, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Indonesia, and Germany is anticipated to drive industry growth.

"Further, increasing utilisation of energy storage systems and UPS in industries including mining, oil & gas, nuclear power, electricity generation, gas turbine, construction, hospitality, banking, manufacturing, and off-grid renewable is anticipated to drive lead acid battery demand over the period," he said.