How ‘Black Sand’ could help build a domestic battery supply chain

A company called Blue Whale Materials is building up the U.S. supply chain for battery recycling, a step that could eventually affect the cost and availability of batteries used in home energy storage and electric vehicles. The company started out shipping American battery waste overseas for recycling, but as shipping companies grew reluctant to transport hazardous battery materials, the founders saw a need for processing here at home.

Rather than trying to handle every step of recycling, Blue Whale focuses on one part of the process: breaking down used batteries with a thermal system to remove impurities and extract valuable materials like cobalt, nickel, and lithium. The result is a concentrated product the company calls "Black Sand," which it sells to refiners who complete the recycling process. After testing the approach at a demonstration plant in Japan, Blue Whale opened its first full-scale commercial facility in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, funded through private equity.

The company is now expanding with help from a $110 million project backed by the Department of Energy. For homeowners, this kind of domestic recycling infrastructure doesn't change anything immediately, but it points toward a more reliable, U.S.-based supply of the raw materials that go into batteries — including those used in home battery storage systems paired with solar panels. A steadier domestic supply chain could help stabilize battery costs and availability over time, though no specific pricing or timeline for that impact was given.