Clarios evaluates sites for mineral-recovery plant

Used batteries prepared for material recovery

Site assessments for mineral recovery

Clarios plans to invest up to $1 billion in a critical minerals processing and recovery facility in the United States. Preliminary site assessments have been completed, with Indiana, Texas and Utah under consideration. The company announced the selection process on May 20, 2025; a final location and construction timetable were not specified.

The proposed plant would recover antimony from used batteries collected across the country. Adam Muellerweiss, Clarios’ chief sustainability officer, discussed the project at the Securing American Battery Technologies Summit on May 20. He linked the investment to strengthening domestic battery production and reducing exposure to overseas mineral supplies.

A programme extending through 2035

The project forms part of Clarios’ $6 billion American energy manufacturing strategy, announced in Glendale, Wisconsin, on March 3, 2025. The programme runs through 2035 and divides planned investment across four areas:

$2.5 billion for advanced battery production.
$1.9 billion for critical minerals processing and recovery.
$1 billion for next-generation technologies.
$600 million for manufacturing modernisation.

Clarios’ existing recycling network distributes new batteries and collects used units for material recovery and reuse. The company’s March announcement identified antimony and tin among the minerals important to starter batteries. Its domestic operations included 16 manufacturing facilities, while its workforce of more than 5,500 people extended across 32 states.

Clarios company logo

Processing capacity and future development

The proposed facility would extract antimony and other critical minerals from recycled materials. Clarios chief executive Mark Wallace connected the investment with expanded recycling capabilities and more resilient supply chains. The company also envisaged potential future battery-manufacturing and technology-development investments at the selected site. These possibilities remained prospective developments within the site-selection programme.

Muellerweiss linked the recovery project to China’s December 2024 restrictions on critical-mineral exports to the United States. He said Clarios aimed to use the federal Section 45X manufacturing tax credit to support the investment. He also called for Congress to extend elements of that credit scheduled to expire in 2032 by at least ten years. His comments described the company’s preferred policy support, rather than an enacted extension or a completed financing award for this plant.