Author: Enji

Introduction

Hello everyone. My name is Enkhtsetseg and I am the Founder of the Mongolian Circular Battery Initiative, or MCBI.It is a great honor to be here today. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share our vision for Mongolia and for the future of sustainable battery management. Today, I would like to tell you a story. Not the story of a battery. Not the story of a technology. But the story of responsibility. Every day, billions of people depend on batteries.They power our phones , our computers, hospitals, factories, electric vehicles, and renewable energy systems. Without batteries, the global energy transition would not be possible. Yet every battery has a limited life. Eventually, every battery reaches the end of its first use. At that moment, we face an important question. Do we see it as waste? Or do we see it as a valuable resource? The answer to this question will shape the future of our environment, our economy, and our society. I believe that batteries should never become forgotten waste. Instead, they should become part of a circular system where materials are recovered, resources are protected, and future generations benefit. That belief became the foundation of the Mongolian Circular Battery Initiative. Today, I would like to share why battery circularity matters, why Mongolia has a unique opportunity to act early, and why international cooperation will be essential for building a truly sustainable future.

The World is Changing

The world is changing faster than ever before. Governments are investing in clean energy. Companies are transforming their industries. Consumers are choosing electric vehicles. Renewable energy is expanding across every continent. Behind all of these changes is one technology. The battery. Every electric vehicle needs batteries. Every solar farm needs energy storage. Every wind power system depends on reliable storage solutions. This global transition is creating enormous opportunities. But it is also creating enormous responsibilities. Millions of batteries will eventually reach the end of their useful life. If we fail to prepare today, tomorrow’s environmental challenge. The circular economy offers another path. A path where products remain valuable for as long as possible. A path where economic growth and environmental protection move forward together. This is the future we hope to build.

The Hidden Challenge Behind the Clean Energy Transition

When people think about clean energy, they often imagine electric vehicles, solar panels, and wind turbines. These technologies represent hope. They represent innovation. They represent a future with lower carbon emissions. But there is another side to this story. Every battery has a life cycle. After years of use , every battery will eventually reach the end of its first life. The question is not whether this will happen. The question is whether we are prepared. Today , millions of batteries are already reaching the end of their useful lives. Over the next two decades, this number will increase dramatically. Without proper planning, battery waste could become one of the fastest-growing environmental challenges of the clean energy transition. This is not because batteries are bad. Batteries are essential. The problem is not the technology. The problem is what happens after we stop using it.

Why Battery Waste Matters

A used battery is not ordinary waste. Inside every battery are valuable materials. Depending on the battery chemistry, these may include lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, graphite, manganese, and aluminum. These materials required energy, water, technology, and natural resources to produce. Throwing them away means losing valuable resources to produce. Throwing them away means losing valuable resources. Improper disposal also creates environmental risks. Damaged batteries may catch fire. Hazardous substances may leak into soil and groundwater. Unsafe storage increases risks for workers, communities, and emergency responders. Battery waste is therefore not only an environmental issue. It is also an economic, social, and public safety issue.

Learning Before the Problem Grows

Many countries are now investing heavily in battery recycling, digital battery tracking, and circular economy policies. They are doing this because they understand an important lesson. It is much easier to build a responsible system before a crisis develops than to solve a crisis after it has already happened. For countries like Mongolia, this creates an important opportunity.We still have time. We can learn from international experience. We can adopt good practices. We can avoid costly mistakes. Instead of reaching to future problems, we can prepare for them today. Preparation is always less expensive than recovery.

The Circular Economy Is About More Than Recycling

Many people believe the circular economy is simply about recycling. In reality, it is much broader. A circular economy begins with better design. It encourages longer product life. It supports repair whenever it is safe and practical. It promotes reuse and second-life applications. Only after these options have been considered should recycling take place. The goal is simple. Keep products and materials in use for as long as possible. Reduce natural resources. Create new economic opportunities. For batteries, this means thinking about every stage of their journey-from production and use to collection, testing, second-life applications, recycling, and responsible recovery of materials.

A Different Way of Thinking

Perhaps the biggest change we need is not technological. It is a change in mindset. Instead of asking, How do we dispose of batteries? We should ask, How do we continue creating value from them? Instead of seeing waste, we should see opportunity. Instead of solving today’s problems only, we should design systems that prevent tomorrow’s problems. This way of thinking is at the heart of the circular economy. And it is the foundation of the Mongolian Circular Battery Initiative.

Why Mongolia Has a Unique Opportunity

When people think about battery recycling, they usually think about large industrial countries. They think about Europe. They think about Chine. They think about the United States. Very few people think about Mongolia. But perhaps they should. Because Mongolia has something very valuable. Not only natural resources. Not only natural resources. Not only renewable energy potential. But something even more important. The opportunity to learn before the problem becomes too large. Many countries built their battery systems only after facing significant environmental and economic challenges. Mongolia has the chance to prepare in advance. This gives us an important advantage. Instead of reaching to a crisis, we can design a responsible system from the beginning.

Building a System, Not Just a Factory

When people hear the word ‘recycling’ they often imagine a factory. But a factory alone cannot solve the problem. A circular battery economy is much bigger than one facility. It is a complete system. It begins with public awareness. It continues with collection. Safe transportation. Battery testing. Digital tracking. Second-life applications. Responsible recycling. Material recovery. Education. Research. Government policy. International cooperation. Every one of these parts must work together. If one part is missing, the entire system becomes weaker. Our goal is not simply to recycle batteries. Our goal is to build a system that works for decades.

Protecting What Matters Most

For Mongolia , environmental protection begins with water. Water is one of our most precious resources. Healthy rivers. Clean groundwater. Safe drinking water. These are the foundation of healthy communities. Economic development should never come at the cost of environmental protection. A circular battery system should help prevent pollution before it happens. It should reduce unnecessary waste. It should recover valuable materials safety. And it should always protect people and nature together. Sustainability is not only about reducing carbon emissions. It is also about protecting the ecosystems that support life.

Learning From the World

We do not need to start from zero. Many countries have already developed valuable experience. The European Union has introduced new battery regulations. Digital battery passports are becoming an important tool. Extended Producer Responsibility is helping define clear responsibilities. Researchers continue improving recycling technologies. Companies are investing in second-life battery applications. These experiences provide valuable lessons. But Mongolia should not simply copy another country’s model. Every country has different geography. Different industries. Different communities. Our responsibility is to learn from international experience while building solutions that fit Mongolia’s own needs.

The Vision of MCBI

This is exactly why the Mongolian Circular Battery Initiative was created. MCBI is not only about recycling. It is about connecting people. Researchers. Government institutions. Industry. Universities. Communities. International partners. Our goal is to create cooperation instead of working separately. Because no single organization can build a circular battery system alone. Real progress happens when knowledge, technology, policy, and people move forward together. That is the future we hope to build. A future where battery materials remain valuable. Where communities remain safe. Where nature is protected. And where Mongolia becomes an active contributor to the global circular economy.

Our world is drowning in the silent remains of the digital age-millions of discarded batteries left behind each year.

Pip: The world is drowning in spent EV batteries. And somewhere in the middle of the steppe, Mongolia is raising its hand to say it has a plan-wich, honestly, is more than most countries can claim.

Mara: That’s the territory we’re covering today, thanks to Enji’s recent writing for MCBI Mongolian Battery Initiative — global recycling trends, what’s broken in the current system, and why Mongolia sees a strategic opening right now.

Pip: Let’s start with the global picture — where all those batteries are actually going.

Global EV Battery Recycling

Mara: The core question here is whether the world’s recycling infrastructure can keep pace with the sheer volume of batteries coming off the road — and right now, the honest answer is no.

Pip: The post on EV Battery Recycling: Global Trends and Key Findings puts a number on the scale: “The World Resources Institute estimates this volume could reach 20.5 million tonnes by 2040.”

Mara: That’s end-of-life batteries piling up faster than the systems exist to handle them. In the UK, 90 percent of used EV batteries go unprocessed due to insufficient recycling capacity. In China, 20 to 30 percent move through unregulated channels entirely.

Pip: So the infrastructure gap isn’t a future problem — it’s already here.

Mara: And the stakes for closing it are significant. The IEA estimates that by 2050, recycling could reduce the need for newly mined lithium and nickel by 25 percent, and cobalt by up to 40 percent. The recycled critical minerals market itself could reach 200 billion dollars by 2050.

Pip: Which reframes recycling from a cleanup operation into something closer to a mining strategy — just one that starts at the end of the supply chain instead of the beginning.

Mara: Policy is starting to reflect that. The EU launched its Battery Booster program on June 11, 2026, with 1.5 billion euros in announced support, designating recycling and material recovery as a strategic industrial sector. Manufacturers like BYD and CATL are integrating recycling directly into their production systems.

Pip: Even batteries that aren’t ready for the shredder yet have a second act — capacity drops to 70 to 80 percent and they move into stationary storage. Though the post is clear that’s a stopgap, not a solution.

Mara: That brings us to where Mongolia fits — and why the timing matters.

Circular Battery Systems In Mongolia

Mara: The post “Why Mongolia Needs a Circular Battery System Now” frames this plainly: “This is not just an environmental issue. It is an economic and strategic opportunity.”

Pip: Acting early, before the waste wave arrives, is exactly the kind of positioning most regions wait too long to attempt.

Mara: MCBI’s aim is to extend battery life, enable second-life applications, recover critical materials, and build a circular system that protects land, water, and future generations — the full loop, not just the end of it.

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Pip: A 200-billion-dollar materials market and a steppe nation moving first — that’s a combination worth watching.

Mara: Next time, we’ll see how that strategy develops on the ground.

Today I joined an inspiring discussion on Circular Design for Nature.

One message stood out throughout the conversation: A ciruclar economy is not only about recycling. It’s about redesigning systems. Some of the key ideas I took away:

• Circular economy requires collaboration among governments, businesses, academia, NGOs, and local communities.
• Policy should ensure that those who create value are not the only ones carrying the risks and costs.
• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) works best when it suppoerts the entire value chain and builds local infrastructure.
• Cities have enormous power through procurement, planning, regulations, and datd to accelerate circular transitions.
• True participation means involving stakeholders from the very beginning not after decisions have already been made.
• Success should be measured not only by economic growth , but also by long-term environmental and social value.

One statement particularly resonated with me: We have spent decades designing loops for materials. How we must design loops that keep value circulating back to communities and nature.

For Mongolia, these discussions are especially relevant. Building a national circular economy system requires dialogue, cooperation why I continue working on the Mongolia Circular Battery Initiative (MCBI) because circularity begins with designing systems that protect people, resources, and future generations.

Overview

As global electric vehicle adoption accelerates, the volume of end-of-life (EOL) EV batteries is rising sharply. The World Resources Institute estimates this volume could reach 20.5 million tonnes by 2040. In China alone, 820,000 tonnes of retired batteries are expected to accumulate by the end of 2025.

Why it matters

• The recycled critical minerals market could reach $200 billion by 2050.
• Recovering critical minerals like lithium, nickel, and cobalt strengthens supply security.
• The IEA estimates that by 2050, recycling could reduce the need for newly mined lithium and nickel by 25%, and cobalt by up to 40%.

Current challenges

• In China, 20–30% of retired batteries are processed through unregulated channels.
• In the UK, 90% of used EV batteries go unprocessed due to insufficient recycling capacity.
• EV adoption is growing faster than recycling capacity can keep up with.

Policy shifts

The EU launched the Battery Booster program on June 11, 2026, designating the circular economy, material recovery, and recycling as a strategic industrial sector, with €1.5 billion in announced support. Manufacturers like BYD and CATL have begun integrating recycling into their production systems.

Second-life batteries

Once battery capacity drops to 70–80%, it becomes unsuitable for vehicle use but can be repurposed for stationary energy storage and industrial applications. However, this is only a stopgap full-scale recycling infrastructure remains essential in the end.

Conclusion

EV battery recycling isn’t just waste management it’s a critical sector for strategic mineral security, industrial competitiveness, and supply chain resilience. This trend further reinforces the significance of MCBI’s initiative to build a circular economy system for EV batteries in Mongolia.

Introduction

California’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework continues to evolve through the implementation of SB54. During today’s unPacked: Source Reducation Bootcamp, regulators and industry experts shared practical guidance on source reduction planning, incentive structures, and the role of data driven decision making.

The session highlighted that successful circular economy implementation starts with reliable datd, cross fumctional collaboration, and long term planning rather than short term compliance.

Key Takeaways

Five Source Reducation Pathways

• Rease & Refill
• Elimination
• Right/sizing & Bulk Packaging
• Post/Costumer Recycled (PCR) Content

Data First, Regulation Second

California is currently collecting producer datd to determine realistic reduction targets and future incentive structures.

Bonus-Malus Model

Companies reducing plastic use or increasing certified PCR content may recieve bonuses, while continued virgin plastic use may result in increasing malus fees.

Timeline

• August 1,2026 – Individual Source Reduction Plans
• October 2026 – Final fee schedule
• January 2027 – Program implementation begins

MCBI Prespective

For Mongolia and emerging battery circular economy systems, the webinar reinforces an important principle:

Effective Extended Producer Responsibility begins with data, transparency, collaboration, and phased implementation.

June 10, 2026 | Enji | Mongolia Circular Battery Initiative (MCBI) | Policy Commentary

As global competition intensifies to secure critical minerals essential for the energy transition, the policy tools governing what happens to those minerals after they enter a battery remain dangerously underdeveloped. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) offers an effective framework to fill this gap and for mineral-rich countries like Mongolia, designing EPR correctly is not merely a regulatory question: it is a strategic economic and environmental priority.

The Global Landscape: EPR Is Accelerating

Regulatory momentum around battery EPR has grown sharply in recent years.

In the European Union, the EU Batteries Regulation (EU 2023/1542) entered into force in August 2023, with core EPR and labeling obligations applying to member states from August 2025. Requirements span the full battery lifecycle: collection targets, recycling efficiency standards, producer registration obligations, and take-back schemes. Supply chain due diligence rules covering cobalt, natural graphite, lithium, and nickel are being phased in as a central pillar of the regulation.

In the United States, the EPA and Department of Energy have developed voluntary EPR frameworks for all battery types under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. A series of stakeholder consultations ran from 2025 into early 2026, addressing recycling targets, cost structures, product design, and collection models. Several states including Vermont, Illinois, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington — have passed new battery EPR legislation taking effect in 2026.

The direction is clear: EPR is becoming the primary government instrument for assigning end-of-life responsibility to battery producers.

What EPR Does and Why It Matters for Critical Mineral Recovery

EPR shifts the financial and operational burden of waste management from governments and taxpayers to the companies that originally placed products on the market. For batteries, this means manufacturers and importers are responsible for collection, sorting, and processing of used batteries rather than allowing them to be discarded through informal channels.

This affects critical mineral recovery through three distinct pathways:

1. Creates economic incentives for design-for-recycling. When producers bear end-of-life costs, they have a direct financial incentive to design batteries that can be efficiently disassembled and yield recoverable quantities of lithium, 

nickel, cobalt, manganese, and graphite. Without EPR, these costs fall on municipal and informal waste systems.

2. Generates domestic secondary supply of critical minerals. The IEA estimates that by 2040, materials recovered from recycled batteries could reduce new primary mining demand for key minerals by approximately 10%. Domestic recycling infrastructure financed and organized through EPR mechanisms enables recovered minerals to re-enter supply chains rather than being lost to landfill or exported as waste.

3. Builds the institutional infrastructure that mineral-rich countries need. For countries like Mongolia both a mineral exporter and an emerging battery importer an EPR framework establishes the governance architecture to systematically track, collect, and process battery waste. Without this infrastructure, the long-term value of critical mineral reserves is captured elsewhere in the supply chain.

Mongolia’s Position: A Policy Opportunity Not Yet Seized

Mongolia sits at a distinctive crossroads. It holds significant reserves of lithium, copper, fluorspar, and rare earth elements critical to battery manufacturing while simultaneously experiencing rapid growth in EV and consumer electronics use. Mongolia’s current legal framework, the 2017 Waste Law, contains no specific provisions governing lithium-ion or EV battery waste. There is no mandatory producer registration, no collection targets, and no dedicated recycling infrastructure operating under EPR principles.

This regulatory gap carries real risks. Batteries discarded through informal channels leach heavy metals and electrolyte compounds into soil and groundwater. Batteries containing minerals that could be recovered are being landfilled rather than processed. As EV adoption grows, the volume of end-of-life batteries entering the waste stream will increase substantially over the coming decade.

The opportunity, however, is equally significant. Mongolia can learn from both the successes and implementation challenges observed in EU and US practice and design an EPR framework from the outset that reflects Mongolian institutional realities, rather than retrofitting models designed for different contexts.

MCBI’s Approach: Building EPR-Compatible Systems

The Mongolia Circular Battery Initiative (MCBI) is working to demonstrate at pilot scale and ahead of comprehensive legislation what a collection and recovery system for used batteries could look like under Mongolian conditions.

This matters because EPR frameworks do not emerge from legislation alone. They require logistics (collection points, transport, sorting), technical capacity (battery chemistry analysis, processing capability), and stakeholder trust (among producers, retailers, local government, and recyclers). MCBI’s Czech-Mongolian partnership model is specifically designed to transfer established circular economy knowledge and operational experience from the EU context to Mongolian conditions laying the foundation that future EPR regimes will require.

MCBI is also engaged with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change on the policy architecture needed to close current regulatory gaps, including the rationale for an inter-ministerial working group coordinating the Ministries of Mining, Finance, and Industry and Digital Development on battery waste governance.

Key Policy Recommendations

For policymakers in Mongolia and comparable mineral-rich countries in early stages of battery EPR planning, MCBI identifies the following priorities:

• Make producer registration the first legal step. Before collection targets can be enforced, it must be clear in mandatory, enforceable terms who bears responsibility: not only domestic manufacturers but importers.

• Design collection infrastructure for low-density conditions. EPR collection models developed for dense urban environments in the EU or US require adaptation. Mongolia’s geography demands a different approach: decentralized intake points, return logistics partnerships, and mobile collection to complement fixed infrastructure.

• Integrate mineral recovery from the outset. EPR frameworks that treat used batteries only as waste miss the economic opportunity. Expressing recovery targets in terms of mineral yield not only battery weight aligns incentives with critical mineral strategy.

• Ensure inter-ministerial coordination. Battery waste governance intersects environmental regulation, mining law, trade policy, and industrial development. Single-ministry approaches produce incomplete frameworks. Inter-ministerial coordination mechanisms are essential.

• Build bilateral and multilateral knowledge partnerships. Mongolia’s emerging EPR framework will benefit from exchange with countries operating comparable systems. EU-Mongolia relations including MCBI’s Czech partnerships represent a practical channel for this exchange.

Conclusion

Battery EPR is no longer a future policy option — it is regulatory reality in major markets. For Mongolia, the question is not whether to develop an EPR framework for critical mineral recovery, but how to design one that reflects Mongolian geography, institutional capacity, and strategic mineral interests.

MCBI remains committed to contributing to that design through pilot demonstration, policy engagement, and knowledge-sharing partnerships with the EU’s circular economy ecosystem.

Mongolia Circular Battery Initiative (MCBI) is a circular economy initiative focused on battery recycling, critical mineral recovery, and sustainable resource governance, operating between the Czech Republic and Mongolia. Learn more at mcbis.org.

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By MCBI Team | June 16, 2026

The Czech Republic is at a turning point in how it manages battery waste and the implications reach far beyond its borders.

A Regulatory Shift Already Underway

As of April 30, 2026, the Czech Republic joined other EU member states in implementing the EU Battery Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, formally establishing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) obligations for battery producers. Under this framework, companies that place batteries on the Czech market are now legally and financially responsible for the full lifecycle of those batteries from collection and transport to recycling and material recovery.

This is not a distant policy goal. It is live, binding, and reshaping how industry operates today.

What EPR Actually Requires

EPR places accountability where it belongs: on the producers who profit from batteries, not on municipalities or consumers. In practice, this means:

• Mandatory registration with a national Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO)
• Collection rate targets: 45% for portable batteries in 2026, rising to 73% by 2030
• Material recovery requirements: 80% lithium, 95% cobalt, nickel, and lead
• Digital Battery Passport: mandatory from February 2027 for all industrial batteries over 2 kWh, tracking materials, carbon footprint, and recyclability

The Czech Republic’s battery recycling market is simultaneously developing the industrial infrastructure to meet these demands with growth projected in anode scrap processing, hydrometallurgical facilities, and critical mineral recovery operations.

Why This Matters for Central and Eastern Europe

The Czech Republic is a strategically important node in the European battery value chain. It hosts major automotive manufacturing operations, a growing energy storage sector, and proximity to key processing partners across the region.

But the current recycling infrastructure still has gaps. Cross-border coordination between Czech Republic, Germany, and Austria remains underdeveloped. Technical standards for battery recycling are still being refined. And most companies are only beginning to prepare for the Digital Battery Passport requirement arriving in 2027.

These are not obstacles they are openings.

MCBI’s Position in This Transition

The Mongolia Circular Battery Initiative (MCBI) is a Czech-Mongolian organization working at the intersection of battery recycling, critical minerals recovery, and EPR policy development. We are operating in Czech Republic at exactly this moment of transition building partnerships with industrial processors, collection operators, and research institutions to pilot circular battery systems that meet EU standards while connecting to Mongolia’s critical mineral resources.

Mongolia holds significant reserves of lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements. The EU’s growing demand for responsibly sourced critical minerals combined with the Czech Republic’s developing recycling capacity creates a natural corridor for collaboration.

Our work is grounded in the operational reality of Czech battery flows, not abstract policy. We conduct field research with industry partners, map contamination points and collection bottlenecks, and design pilot systems around real constraints.

What Comes Next

The next 12–18 months will define which organizations are positioned to lead in this space and which are still catching up. Key milestones include:

• Mid-2026: Additional Czech legal reforms on waste recycling rules expected
• August 2026: EU Packaging Regulation Authorized Representative obligations take effect
• February 2027: Digital Battery Passport becomes mandatory for large batteries
• 2030: 73% collection rate target for portable batteries

For battery producers, recyclers, and policy stakeholders operating in Czech Republic, the question is no longer whether to engage with circular battery systems it is how quickly and how well.

MCBI is building that capacity now. If your organization is navigating these changes, we welcome the conversation.

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Mongolia Circular Battery Initiative (MCBI) is a Czech-Mongolian circular economy organization focused on battery recycling, critical minerals recovery, and EPR policy development. Learn more at mcbis.org