Partnership for Responsible Battery and Metal Recycling (ProBaMet)

Lead-acid batteries continue to serve as a critical energy storage solution in Nigeria and other transitioning economies, driven by expanding vehicle ownership, decentralized energy systems, and emerging technologies.  While public and media attention often focuses on Lithium-ion batteries, lead-acid is still the dominating type with continuous growth rates in many world regions especially Africa.  However, when the end-of-life management of used lead-acid batteries (ULABs) is done in an improper way, it presents serious environmental and public health risks, with unsound recycling practices significantly contributing to release of hazardous substances and human exposure to lead. There is increasing evidence that lead exposure from unsound battery recycling is a major and often underestimated health risk for the population in low- and middle-income countries.

In response, the ProBaMet project was initiated to improve ULAB recycling practices in Nigeria through a three-pronged strategy:

• Training recycling facility managers in effective implementation of environmental, health and safety standards.
• Supporting regulatory authorities in strengthening standards and their enforcement.
• Create business opportunities for high-standard recycling through a coalition of solar companies looking for responsible battery disposal solutions and international companies aiming to source secondary raw materials from approved facilities.

Employing a multi-stakeholder framework that integrates both ‘push’ (regulatory) and ‘pull’ (market incentive) mechanisms, the project effectively demonstrated the potential for systemic improvements in the ULAB recycling.
This report outlines the methodologies used, including training sessions, field assessments, and tailored facility improvement plans. It also details engagement with regulatory bodies and stakeholders across local, regional, and national levels. Key project outcomes include capacity building of regulators, plants managers and other stakeholders in using tailored ULAB facility assessment methods and effective documentation for decision making and monitoring, the recognition of top-performing recyclers, the publication of circularity guidelines for decentralized renewable energy industries, the convening of Africa’s first ULAB end-of-life management conference, and heightened due diligence by international lead buying and-using industries. The growing Call for Action on reforming ULAB end-of-life management by leading African experts is also discussed. These insights offer replicable and scalable models for improving ULAB management across similar economies and other secondary raw material streams, such as zinc and aluminium.

Keywords: Waste management, Lead-Acid Batteries, Secondary Raw Materials, Circular Economy, Resource Consumption, Recycling, Environmental Health, Nigeria.

*The project implementing team of the ProBaMet comprises of researchers from Oeko-Institut, the head of Plattform Blei (an initiative of WVMetalle), researchers from the Sustainable Research and Action for Environmental Development (SRADev Nigeria) and members of the Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE). The project was supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.