#### Last updated on Oct-2026
# Urban Mining Lab
> [!hero]
> ![[2025Nov_groupPhoto_2.jpg]]
> *Group photo, Nov 2025*
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> **We recover critical metals such as nickel, cobalt, lithium and rare earths from spent batteries, e-waste, solar panels and industrial residues, and design cleaner, scalable routes to put them back into the supply chain.** This supports India's [[Critical Metals (India)|National Critical Mineral Mission]] and a circular economy for clean-energy technologies.
>
> Urban Mining Lab is based in the department of [Sustainable Energy Engineering](https://www.iitk.ac.in/see/) at [Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur](https://www.iitk.ac.in/), led by [[Vivek Verma]].
> [!quicklinks] Explore
> - 🔬 [[Lab work in brief|What we do]]
> - 🧪 [[Our Research|Research]]
> - 📄 [[Publications|Publications]]
> - 👥 [[Team Members|Team]]
> - 🎓 [[Openings|Join us]] · [[Student Intake (OPEN)|admissions]]
> - 📚 [[Lecture Resources|Lecture slides]]
> - 💾 [[Resources|Resources]]
> - 💡 [[Learn Recycling yourself|Learn recycling]]
> - 🎤 [[Conferences, Workshops and Talks|Talks and events]]
> - 🤝 [[Collaborations|Collaborations]]
> - ✉️ [[Contact Us 🪪|Contact]]
> [!facts] The lab at a glance
> - ⏳ Active since May 2025
> - 🎓 3 PhD students
> - 🧑🎓 3 M.Tech students (incl. 1 dual degree)
> - 🔬 1 postdoctoral fellow
> - 💰 1 funded project
> - 📄 23 journal papers
> - 📝 1 patent filed
> - 📈 1,886 citations, h-index 19
**What is urban mining?** 🤔 Urban mining is the recovery and reuse of valuable materials from waste generated by humans and industry, treating discarded products as a new source of resources. [[What is Urban Mining|Read more, with examples]].
![[News & Updates]]
> [!featured] Featured: CIRcoN 2026, Jamshedpur 🏭
> ![[Pasted image 20260929203941.png]]
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> Our group presented at CIRcoN 2026, organised by Tata Steel and IIM Jamshedpur Chapter (24–25 Sep 2026). Three talks by Vivek Verma, Dhritiraj Deka and Ashwani Gautam covered battery recycling and critical metal recovery. [[CIRcoN 2026 Jamshedpur|Read the full post]].
![[Critical Metals (India)]]
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![[Affiliations]]