What Terrapure does

Terrapure is a privately held Canadian environmental services company specializing in lead battery recycling, headquartered in Burlington, Ontario. The company collects spent lead-acid batteries and other lead-bearing materials, then uses proprietary smelting, refining, and plastics-recovery processes to break down batteries and separate their constituent components — lead, plastic, and sulfuric acid. Recovered lead is melted, purified to 99.97% purity, and cast into ingots and blocks meeting customer-specific formulations; battery-casing plastics are processed into high-quality polypropylene pellets; and approximately 20 million litres of sulfuric acid are recovered annually for industrial reuse. The company holds two London Metal Exchange (LME) approved lead brands — Tonolli and Nova Pb — and operates two state-of-the-art recycling facilities near Toronto and Montreal, plus a logistics hub near Buffalo, New York, enabling North American-wide service.

The business model is a closed-loop industrial recycling operation rather than a fee-for-service disposal business. Terrapure partners directly with all major North American battery manufacturers, collects their spent batteries, and returns recovered lead and polypropylene pellets — often to the same manufacturers — for use in producing new batteries. Revenue is generated predominantly from the sale of recovered commodities (lead, polypropylene, sulfuric acid) priced against LME benchmarks, supplemented by transaction fees on battery collection services. The company achieves a 99% recycling rate — the highest of any consumer product in North America — and recovers over 90% of the constituent components in batteries it processes, with facilities producing 57–73% fewer greenhouse-gas emissions than conventional smelting and refining.

Customer concentration sits squarely in battery manufacturing as the primary segment, with secondary exposure to energy storage, telecommunications/data center backup power, automotive, motive power, marine, golf cart, sweeper-scrubber, and e-bike battery end-markets. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales with direct B2B relationships rather than traditional marketing channels. Following the August 2021 divestiture of its Environmental Solutions, Organics Solutions, Oil Recycling Solutions, and Landfill operations to GFL Environmental, Terrapure is now a focused battery-recycling pure-play. Leadership comprises President & CEO Ryan Reid, CFO & COO Jason Green, and Chief Development Officer & General Counsel Took Whiteley.

Name

Terrapure

Legal name

Terrapure BR Ltd.

Website

https://terrapureenv.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Terrapure is a Canadian environmental services company that operates a closed-loop lead battery recycling platform, processing approximately 12 million spent batteries annually to recover 99.97%-purity lead, polypropylene pellets, and sulfuric acid for major North American battery manufacturers. The company operates state-of-the-art recycling facilities near Toronto and Montreal with a logistics hub in Buffalo, New York.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Lead Battery Recycling Services

NAICS

Materials Recovery Facilities (562920)

SIC

Hazardous Waste Management (4955)

akta.pro primary industry

Lead-Acid Battery Recycling (Breaking, Smelting, Refining) (EUAIAIAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Battery Recycling & Materials Recovery (Li-ion, LFP, Flow, Lead-Acid) (EUAMALAE), Pyrometallurgical Recycling (Smelting, Thermal Treatment) (EUAFACAE), Battery Scrap & Recycling Feedstock (Lead-Acid, Li-ion Black Mass Feedstock, NiMH) (IMAKAMAH), Battery Collection & Logistics (Sorting, Packaging, Transport Compliance) (EUAIAIAE)

Keywords

• Lead battery recycling
• Closed-loop recycling
• Polypropylene pellet production
• Lead refining
• Hazardous waste processing

Headquarters

HQ city

Burlington

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Recovered lead sales: Terrapure recovers and processes lead from used batteries into new lead exceeding 99.97% purity, made to meet customers' exact specifications. The lead is sold predominantly back to battery manufacturers, with some sold for medical radiation shielding, wheel weights, roofing and ammunition applications.
2. Polypropylene pellet sales: High-quality recycled polypropylene pellets produced from battery casings are sold for reuse in manufacturing new battery casings and other products.
3. Used battery collection: The company collects spent lead batteries and other lead-bearing materials safely and in compliance with all regulatory requirements. This is a core part of their supply chain for raw material sourcing.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Terrapure operates state-of-the-art lead battery recycling facilities near Toronto and Montreal, collecting spent lead batteries and recovering their constituent components into high-purity recycled lead (exceeding 99.97% purity), polypropylene pellets, and sulfuric acid. The recovered materials are sold predominantly back to major North American battery manufacturers, creating a closed-loop circular economy solution for the lead battery industry.

Product overview

Terrapure operates a battery recycling platform centered on its two state-of-the-art recycling facilities near Toronto and Montreal. The core offering is its Battery Recycling Solutions service, which collects spent lead batteries and recovers their valuable components. The company produces two branded lead products—Tonolli and Nova Pb—both meeting rigorous industry specifications and approved by the London Metal Exchange. These are complemented by custom lead alloys and recycled polypropylene pellets derived from battery casings. A key byproduct stream is recovered sulfuric acid. All products are sold worldwide to battery manufacturers and other lead-consuming industries, creating a closed-loop circular economy solution.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Tonolli: Tonolli branded lead products sold to battery manufacturers and other lead-consuming industries worldwide.
• Nova Pb

Products and services

• Battery Recycling Solutions Core service that collects spent lead batteries and other lead-bearing materials, recovers lead from used batteries into new lead exceeding 99.97% purity, sorts other battery chemistries for third-party recycling, and processes industrial wastes useful to the lead smelting process.
• Tonolli Branded Lead High-quality recycled lead product approved by the London Metal Exchange (LME). Meets specifications required by battery manufacturing and other lead-consuming industries. Sold worldwide to battery manufacturers and other industries including medical radiation shielding, wheel weights, roofing, and ammunition applications.
• Nova Pb Branded Lead
• Lead Alloys
• Polypropylene Pellets (Plastics Recycling)
• Sulfuric Acid Recovery

Quantifiable outcome

• 99% recycling rate - highest of any consumer product in North America
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Major North American Battery ManufacturerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTerrapure partners with all major North American battery manufacturers to provide a sustainable closed-loop circular-economy solution. They capture spent batteries and recover valuable components locally for reuse. The recycled lead and plastic are returned often to the same battery manufacturers, creating a perfect closed-loop for their products. This is the core of Terrapure's business model.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Clarios: Clarios is the world's largest automotive battery manufacturer and operates its own closed-loop lead-acid battery recycling network. It is both a Terrapure customer-class counterpart and a competitor for spent-battery feedstock and recycled lead offtake across North America.
• Exide Technologies: Exide Technologies is a global lead-acid battery manufacturer and recycler operating smelting and refining assets in the US and Europe. It is a direct competitor to Terrapure in lead battery recycling, recovery, and the sale of refined lead and polypropylene.
• Ecobat: Ecobat is one of the world's largest battery recyclers, operating lead smelting facilities across the US and Europe. It directly competes with Terrapure in collecting spent lead-acid batteries and producing refined lead and recycled plastics for battery manufacturers.
• Gopher Resource: Gopher Resource operates lead-acid battery recycling smelters in the US Midwest and Florida. It is a direct North American peer in spent-battery collection, smelting, and refined lead sales to battery manufacturers.
• Aqua Metals: Aqua Metals is a US-based lead-acid battery recycler using a water-based (hydrometallurgical) refining process as an alternative to traditional smelting. It is a direct competitor in the North American lead battery recycling market, with a differentiated technology approach.
• RSR Corporation: RSR Corporation is a US-based non-ferrous metals smelter and refiner with a long history in lead recycling from batteries and other sources. It is a direct competitor to Terrapure in the secondary lead market, particularly in the US.

Broad incumbents

• East Penn Manufacturing: East Penn Manufacturing is one of the largest North American lead-acid battery producers and operates in-house recycling as part of its vertically integrated model. It is both a Terrapure counterpart customer and a competitor for closed-loop recycling contracts.
• EnerSys: EnerSys is a global industrial battery manufacturer (motive power, reserve power, aerospace/defense) with internal recycling programs. It is a broad incumbent whose end-markets (forklifts, telecom backup, rail) overlap directly with Terrapure's customer base.

Emerging players

• Li-Cycle: Li-Cycle is a North American lithium-ion battery recycler with a hub-and-spoke processing model. It represents the emerging lithium-ion recycling capability that, while not directly competing with Terrapure today, signals the strategic direction of the broader battery recycling industry.
• Redwood Materials: Redwood Materials is a US-based battery recycling and materials company focused on lithium-ion chemistries with significant automotive OEM backing. It is an emerging player whose growth signals the industry's longer-term transition away from lead-acid value chains where Terrapure operates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/terrapureenv
• Facebookfacebook.com/terrapureenv

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A3 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Terrapure