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The Allocation Order

The BIS Allocation Order Creates a Domestic Queue, Not Domestic Demand

The BIS temporary final rule effective August 27, 2026, requires U.S. sellers of lithium-ion battery black mass — the shredded cathode and anode material recovered from spent batteries — to allocate 100% of monthly sales to U.S. buyers. Material must remain physically in the United States. The order expires August 27, 2027.

The common misread treats this as a mandate to build domestic processing capacity. It is not. The order directs where black mass is sold. It does not require that a qualified buyer exists, that the buyer can refine the material, or that any new hydrometallurgical capacity come online. Material previously exported for processing in South Korea or China now accumulates in U.S. inventory while permitted domestic facilities remain scarce.

Companies requesting exceptions must continue complying during BIS review. BIS targets a 14-day review window but does not guarantee it. Filing does not pause the sales obligation.

Cities evaluating battery recycling as a sector target should read the order for what it is: a feedstock concentration mechanism. Concentrated feedstock is a necessary precondition for domestic processing investment, but it is not the investment itself.

The Allocation Order

The BIS Allocation Order Creates a Domestic Queue, Not Domestic Demand

The BIS temporary final rule effective August 27, 2026, requires U.S. sellers of lithium-ion battery black mass — the shredded cathode and anode material recovered from spent batteries — to allocate 100% of monthly sales to U.S. buyers. Material must remain physically in the United States. The order expires August 27, 2027.

The common misread treats this as a mandate to build domestic processing capacity. It is not. The order directs where black mass is sold. It does not require that a qualified buyer exists, that the buyer can refine the material, or that any new hydrometallurgical capacity come online. Material previously exported for processing in South Korea or China now accumulates in U.S. inventory while permitted domestic facilities remain scarce.

Companies requesting exceptions must continue complying during BIS review. BIS targets a 14-day review window but does not guarantee it. Filing does not pause the sales obligation.

Cities evaluating battery recycling as a sector target should read the order for what it is: a feedstock concentration mechanism. Concentrated feedstock is a necessary precondition for domestic processing investment, but it is not the investment itself.

Effective: August 27, 2026

Expires: August 27, 2027, unless BIS extends via Federal Register notice

Covered material: Shredded lithium-ion battery scrap containing cathode or anode material, classified under Schedule B codes 8549.13, 8549.14, or 8549.19

Intra-company transfers count. Deliveries between subsidiaries, branches, or divisions under common ownership are treated as covered sales

Exception grounds (five enumerated): Undue hardship; compliance would reduce domestic supply; overseas processing with return to U.S.; irreparable harm; need for additional compliance time

Enforcement: CBP may detain covered exports; noncompliance punishable under Defense Priorities and Allocations System regulations

Comments close: November 4, 2026

The Supply Chain Tier Map

Which Battery-Recovery Rungs Land in Tier-3 Markets Now That Black Mass Can't Leave the Country

By Ruth Anne Bridwell— August 29, 2026

Feature image for article: Which Battery-Recovery Rungs Land in Tier-3 Markets Now That Black Mass Can't Leave the Country

The BIS allocation order restricting black mass exports took effect August 27. Domestic refining capacity runs at roughly one-fifth of preprocessing output by nameplate. Material that used to ship offshore now needs a domestic buyer or a RCRA storage permit, and the 90-day accumulation clock is already running for preprocessors that can't move product. Two recovery-chain tiers remain viable for tier-3 markets. Below are the checkable thresholds for each, what happens to material when it backs up, how margins move as feedstock shifts from NMC to LFP, and the failure paths mapped by three public collapses.

The Supply Chain Tier Map

Which Battery-Recovery Rungs Land in Tier-3 Markets Now That Black Mass Can't Leave the Country

By Ruth Anne Bridwell— August 29, 2026

The BIS allocation order restricting black mass exports took effect August 27. Domestic refining capacity runs at roughly one-fifth of preprocessing output by nameplate. Material that used to ship offshore now needs a domestic buyer or a RCRA storage permit, and the 90-day accumulation clock is already running for preprocessors that can't move product. Two recovery-chain tiers remain viable for tier-3 markets. Below are the checkable thresholds for each, what happens to material when it backs up, how margins move as feedstock shifts from NMC to LFP, and the failure paths mapped by three public collapses.

Rung Proof Checklist

Battery recovery spans five rungs from collection through refining, and each presents a distinct regulatory and infrastructure profile to the host city. A collection hub operating under universal waste rules and a hydrometallurgical plant discharging 300,000 gallons per day to your POTW share a sector label but require different permits, different infrastructure commitments, and different emergency capacity.

The cards below list proof fields you can check against your city's actual assets at each rung: RCRA waste-status path, fire-code inventory triggers, air-permit classification, water and wastewater design range, emergency-response obligations, and the incentive-milestone type matched to how each rung creates value. Where no public U.S. comparator exists, the gap is named rather than papered over.

Rung Proof Checklist

Battery recovery spans five rungs from collection through refining, and each presents a distinct regulatory and infrastructure profile to the host city. A collection hub operating under universal waste rules and a hydrometallurgical plant discharging 300,000 gallons per day to your POTW share a sector label but require different permits, different infrastructure commitments, and different emergency capacity.

The cards below list proof fields you can check against your city's actual assets at each rung: RCRA waste-status path, fire-code inventory triggers, air-permit classification, water and wastewater design range, emergency-response obligations, and the incentive-milestone type matched to how each rung creates value. Where no public U.S. comparator exists, the gap is named rather than papered over.

Collection Rung

Collection: Universal Waste Path, Fire-Code Triggers

Spent lithium-ion batteries qualify as universal waste under 40 CFR 273. Handler threshold: 5,000 kg on site. Fire code triggers an operational permit above 15 cubic feet of storage. No RCRA financial assurance required. Verify your state has adopted federal universal waste rules; some impose stricter limits. Milestone: outbound diversion tonnage, not headcount.

Preprocessing Rung

Preprocessing Permit Path Splits on Pre-Process Storage

Shredding to black mass qualifies as exempt recycling under 40 CFR 261.6(c)(1) only at a destination facility. Storing hazardous waste before processing triggers RCRA Part B with closure financial assurance. Air: Blue Whale Materials achieved synthetic minor in Oklahoma (70.88 tpy VOC, 9.42 tpy HAPs). Fire code: outdoor battery storage capped at 900 sq ft, 10-ft height, 20-ft separation under 2024 IFC Section 320. Milestone: domestic black-mass tonnage with a named U.S. buyer.

Hydrometallurgical Rung

Hydromet Water Demand Spans Zero to 332,000 GPD

Two DOE environmental assessments bracket the range. Cirba Solutions, Lancaster OH: 332,266 gpd water demand, 115,295 gpd discharge to POTW. Redwood Materials, McCarran NV: closed-loop process water, no industrial discharge. Exceeding 25,000 gpd process wastewater to a POTW triggers Significant Industrial User status under 40 CFR 403.3. No public air permit for a U.S. hydromet battery facility appears in the reviewed record. RCRA Part B likely required. Milestone: specification-qualified product accepted by a named buyer.

Pyrometallurgical Rung

Pyro Recovery Lacks a Tier-Three U.S. Comparator

Furnaces recovering metals from hazardous waste batteries may qualify for the smelting exclusion under 40 CFR Part 266 Subpart H, but slag, baghouse dust, and wastewater residuals each require separate hazardous waste determinations. Title V air-permit status is more likely than synthetic minor at this scale. No standalone U.S. tier-3 battery smelter has produced a public permit record through August 2026. Without a comparator, water and air proof fields cannot be specified with confidence.