Clarios to Buy Ecobat's US Battery Recyclers

Car battery maker Clarios has agreed a plan to buy Ecobat, a battery recycler whose three US plants handle more than 40 million used batteries a year. The two companies announced the deal on 27 October in matching statements from Ecobat and Clarios.

The plants break down old batteries and recover the metals inside, mostly lead along with tin and antimony, so they can be used again. Neither company has disclosed a price. The deal is expected to close in early 2027, “pending customary closing conditions including regulatory approvals”.

What is changing hands

The sale covers Ecobat’s recovery plants in City of Industry, California; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Middletown, New York, plus its Dallas office. Together, the companies say, these facilities “currently process more than 40 million batteries annually, recovering lead, tin, antimony and other materials”.

Clarios, based in Glendale, Wisconsin, makes the low-voltage batteries that start cars and run their electronics. It says its batteries are in “1 of 3 cars worldwide” and that “we recycle 8,000 batteries an hour in our network”. It describes its system as closed-loop: it collects used batteries, recovers the materials and makes new batteries from them.

“Clarios is uniquely positioned to strengthen this highly capable U.S. recycling operation supported by an experienced workforce,” said Clarios chief executive Mark Wallace. He said the company would look at “opportunities for future investment in these operations”.

The companies say they will work with “employees, union representatives, and regulators” during the review, with a focus on “continuity of operations, environmental compliance, workforce stability” and long-term investment.

The end of Ecobat’s break-up

For Ecobat, this is the last step in a long sell-off. The company says it completed “ten divestitures spanning seventeen sites across six countries in approximately sixteen months”, including the sale of its European operations, before this sale of its North American business.

“I am proud of what our North American team has built,” said Ecobat president and chief executive Tom Slabe. “Clarios has made a public commitment to investing in U.S. recycling capacity, and that makes it the right owner for the next chapter.”

Clarios says the deal is part of a wider $6 billion US manufacturing plan, which includes $1.9 billion for recycling and processing critical minerals.

Why recycling old car batteries still matters

The positive story here is a simple one: plants that already turn waste into raw materials look set to keep running under an owner that says it wants to invest in them. A long sale process can leave sites in limbo, with spending on hold. A buyer that runs its own recycling network gives the three plants a clear place in a supply chain, from scrap battery to new product.

The scale is also worth noting. Ecobat’s 40 million batteries a year would add a large volume to Clarios’s own network. Its figure of 8,000 batteries an hour works out at roughly 70 million a year, if it runs around the clock. Every battery recovered is metal that needs no new mining, and lead in particular is toxic if old batteries are dumped. Recycling old batteries is one of the clearest working examples of a circular economy, where materials go round again instead of ending up as waste.

Other countries are trying to build the same kind of loop for newer technology. South Korea’s city of Pohang has opened an automated centre to grade used EV batteries, and researchers are designing batteries built to be recycled from the start.

There are open questions. The price is secret, so it is hard to judge the deal. Regulators still have to approve it. Lead recycling also needs careful control of pollution, so the promise to keep up environmental standards will matter to people living near the plants. And the companies’ interest in “critical minerals” ties the deal to a wider rush to secure supply, seen in the EU’s 46 new strategic raw materials projects and Japan’s warning over yttrium.

What happens next

The deal now goes through regulatory review, with closing expected in early 2027. Clarios says it will keep evaluating chances to expand recycling across the US after the purchase.