American Battery Technology got a nice boost today after the company received approval from the U.S. Department of Commerce to sell up to $100 million worth of recycled black mass to international customers.

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Shares of American Battery Technology Company (NASDAQ: ABAT) jumped as much as 25% in premarket trading following the announcement.

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Black mass probably isn't something most people think about when they think about battery recycling. But it's valuable stuff. It's the material left after lithium-ion batteries are processed, and it contains critical minerals including lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and graphite. Those materials can then be refined and used to manufacture new batteries and other products.

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The approval comes from the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security and gives American Battery Technology an export license allowing it to sell up to $100 million of this material under specified terms. New federal export controls covering critical battery materials made the license necessary.

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This is not trivial

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To be sure, $100 million is a big number for a company this size.

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American Battery Technology generated just $21.7 million in revenue during fiscal 2026, although that represented growth of more than 400% from the previous year. So the amount covered by this export authorization is more than four times the company's entire fiscal 2026 revenue.

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The company hasn't yet disclosed a buyer, shipment schedule, or how much revenue it ultimately expects to generate under the license. But it removes a regulatory hurdle at a time when American Battery Technology is scaling its recycling operations. And that’s not trivial. 

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The company currently operates a commercial recycling facility in Nevada and is developing a second facility supported by $150 million in competitive grants from the U.S. Department of Energy. 

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