News | August 31, 2026

New Video Highlights Battery Recycling’s Role in America’s Critical Mineral Supply

The Association of Battery Recyclers (ABR) has released a new video exploring how America’s established lead battery recycling infrastructure provides the majority of the country’s lead supply, helping secure critical mineral supply chains and support U.S. energy security.

The video, Critical Mineral Supply: The Role of Battery Recycling in U.S. Energy Security, brings together leaders from across the battery recycling industry to explain how the nation’s established closed-loop recycling system keeps critical materials in circulation and reduces reliance on foreign supply chains.

A Domestic Source of Critical Minerals

Lead was added to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Critical Minerals List in 2025, underscoring the importance of maintaining reliable domestic sources of materials essential to the U.S. economy and national security.

Battery recycling provides an established domestic source of lead and also recovers other critical minerals, including antimony and tin. Each year, the U.S. battery recycling infrastructure recycles more than 174 million lead batteries. During the most recent five-year study period, from 2020–2024, domestic lead battery recyclers recovered more than 11 billion pounds of critical-mineral lead.

That recycled material supplies approximately 70% of U.S. lead demand annually, making domestic recycling the primary source of lead for the U.S. market and a critical component of America’s mineral supply.

Through the closed-loop system, used lead batteries are collected and recycled, and their valuable materials are recovered for use in new batteries and other products. This domestic recycling infrastructure helps conserve resources, strengthen supply resilience and support the essential systems that rely on lead batteries every day.

Industry Leaders Explain Why Domestic Recycling Matters

In the new video, battery recycling industry leaders discuss the connection between recycling, critical mineral availability and U.S. energy self-sufficiency. They also highlight the importance of keeping valuable battery materials within the domestic circular economy.

A strong U.S. battery recycling industry helps support manufacturing and critical infrastructure while reducing exposure to supply disruptions and geopolitical uncertainty.

Watch the video below to learn how battery recycling is helping secure America’s critical mineral supply.

To learn more about critical minerals from battery recycling, including lead, antimony, and tin, visit ABR’s Critical Minerals From Battery Recycling page.