Critical minerals and rare earth elements are the new gold for industrial growth. Whether it is the electric vehicle industry, defence technology, or data centres, critical minerals and rare earth elements play a vital role in manufacturing all of these. But recent supply-chain disruptions caused by China have raised serious concerns about the security of critical mineral supplies. According to the International Energy Agency, the demand for critical minerals could increase by up to 700 per cent by 2040 if the world is to meet its declared climate goals alone.
Rather than depending solely on primary refining, recycling is becoming essential to secure supply chains and maintain a circular mineral economy.
India joined the US-led mineral security partnership in 2023. Since then, both countries have gradually expanded their engagement in critical minerals. But the real challenge now is to move beyond institutional frameworks and translate this partnership into concrete action. With China controlling critical minerals globally, the imperative is even stronger. While new mining takes time and is more complex, mineral recycling offers an easier and cheaper alternative.
Why critical mineral recycling is a strategic imperative
As we figure out the contours of the US-India mineral partnership, it is critical to strengthen advanced recycling, improve recovery from e-waste, and build resilient supply chains that can support future industrial needs.
When demand rises exponentially and supply remains limited, recycling becomes a strategic necessity. Unlike the traditional take-make-waste linear model, circular approaches such as recycling and secondary recovery can significantly help to meet the surging demand for critical minerals. Refining primary critical minerals is far more resource and carbon-intensive compared to recycling, making it environmentally less suitable.
India’s recycling landscape
India is one of the world’s largest generators of e-waste, producing more than 1.6 million metric tonnes annually. The country is also the fastest-industrialising manufacturing economy. Which is driving higher consumption of electronics and batteries. According to recent reports, India’s e-waste is expected to double to nearly 9 million tonnes by 2030.
However, only about 43 per cent of the e-waste generated from 2023 to 2024 was processed through formal recycling channels. The remaining 57 per cent remains unprocessed and often ends up in the informal sector or in landfills. Studies also indicate that the informal sector handles up to 95 per cent of India’s e-waste, relying on rudimentary, low-efficiency, and often hazardous methods that recover very little of the critical minerals embedded in discarded electronics.
India’s recycling companies face inconsistent feedstock supply, dependence on informal collection networks, and a lack of affordable and high-end recycling technologies. “Without large-scale deployment of advanced extraction technologies and better analytical capabilities, India will not fully realise the potential of critical-mineral recovery from its rapidly growing waste stream,” BK Soni of Eco Recycling Ltd pointed out.
Also read: Hunt for critical minerals: India looks to tie up with Chile and Argentina for lithium mining
A win-win strategic alignment
The US is known for its cutting-edge recycling technologies. US-based companies are known for their advanced recycling technologies and can recover more than 95 per cent of lithium, nickel, cobalt, and copper from end-of-life products. America is also one of the world’s largest generators of e-waste. Together, the world’s two largest e-waste generators have the potential to turn this growing waste stream into a strategic resource that supports secure, non-China-dependent supply chains and a more resilient circular economy.
India joined the US-led Mineral Security Partnership (MSP) in June 2023, marking a major step in aligning both countries’ mineral-security interests. The relationship deepened in 2024 when India and the US signed a memorandum of understanding to expand and diversify critical mineral supply chains, explicitly covering cooperation on recycling and high-value processing. In February 2025, the expanded TRUST partnership broadened the initiative’s scope to include strategic and critical minerals—particularly lithium and rare earth elements—with a focus on recovery, recycling, resilient supply chains, and investment frameworks.
At the multilateral level, the Quad Critical Minerals Initiative, launched on 1 July 2025, aimed to strengthen regional collaboration on recycling, e-waste recovery, and clean-energy mineral supply chains. The US initiated the Pax Silica initiative on 11 December 2025, at its inaugural summit. It brings together partners such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the U.K., Israel, the UAE, and Australia to secure the semiconductor and silicon supply chain—from critical minerals to advanced manufacturing and AI infrastructure. Its goal is to reduce single-point vulnerabilities and coercive dependencies across strategic digital-economy supply chains.
Although India was not included in the initial coalition, US officials, including Under Secretary Jacob Helberg, emphasised that India remains a highly strategic potential partner. In another briefing, Jacob Helberg added that “The Pax Silica inaugural meeting is the starting point, not an end point. We plan to add more players and partners to this effort.”
Including India and Taiwan in future phases would further strengthen the coalition. Taiwan’s semiconductor leadership and India’s expanding manufacturing and e-waste resource base would enhance diversification and resilience across global supply chains. India’s scale and US technology have the potential to reduce China’s monopoly in critical minerals—and inaction now would only deepen dependence on Beijing’s supply chain control. The next phase must move beyond frameworks toward real industrial cooperation, particularly in recycling.
What should be the next steps?
- Launching a joint India-based recycling pilot using proven technologies, structured through a university or applied research and development partnership, to demonstrate a credible and scalable proof of concept.
- Creating a dedicated India-US critical minerals recycling initiative focused on moving from frameworks to execution, with a clear mandate to accelerate commercial-scale recovery and industrial deployment.
- Positioning advanced recycling as the first pillar of a secure, diversified, non-China critical-minerals supply chain, rather than a secondary add-on to mining or refining strategies.
- The US must include India and Taiwan in future phases of the Pax Silica initiative to strengthen supply-chain diversification. India’s expanding manufacturing and circular-economy capabilities and Taiwan’s semiconductor leadership would significantly enhance resilience across global strategic technology supply chains.
India-US cooperation on critical-mineral recycling is essential for building resilient, diversified, and future-ready supply chains. India has e-waste resources, scale and a growing industrial base. And the US offers advanced recycling, analytical, and hydrometallurgical technologies. Together, both nations can create a high-efficiency, low-carbon circular ecosystem that reduces dependence on China.
Shubham Thorat is an Analyst at IndUS Tech. He tweets @Shubham_Thoratt. Views are personal.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)