Most of the rare and critical metals used in batteries and electronics — lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, rare earth elements — come from a small number of foreign countries, with global refining concentrated in just a few of them. Recycling more of these materials domestically, instead of relying on new imports, is one of the most direct ways to reduce that dependence. Every battery, circuit board, or piece of electronic scrap recovered here is material the U.S. doesn't have to import.

That domestic recycling capacity comes from two different places: mining new ore, and recovering materials already in circulation. ERS works exclusively in the second one. ERS builds recycling equipment, not mining or ore-processing equipment — the raw material ERS handles has already been used once, in a battery, a circuit board, or industrial scrap, and the job is recovering the metal from it rather than extracting it from rock.

Before that recovered metal can be refined or reused, the raw scrap first has to be broken down and separated into a clean, workable feedstock. Shredded battery packs, mixed circuit boards, and complex electronic scrap all arrive as dense, mixed material, and getting from that raw state to something a refiner can actually use is a mechanical processing problem.

That's where ERS fits. ERS designs and builds the shearing, shredding, sorting, and separation equipment that turns raw recycled material into that feedstock — including black mass recovery systems that separate copper and aluminum out of shredded EV battery material, and electronics recycling systems that recover metals from circuit boards, cables, and mixed e-waste. Researchers and startups working on new ways to recover critical metals domestically often have the extraction chemistry solved before they have the equipment to process raw material at scale — and that mechanical front end is exactly what ERS provides.

Contact ERS to talk through what a recycling line built around your material stream could look like.

ERS is adding HAKA to its shear baler lineup — a new entry-level machine built to deliver performance beyond what its category typically offers. Despite a compact, mid-sized footprint, HAKA reaches cutting forces of up to 800 tons, with a compression box up to 7000 mm and the option to configure two lid cylinders.

Structural robustness isn't optional on equipment that absorbs high stress, continuous impact, torsion, vibration, and wear every day — and HAKA holds consistent performance under that load despite its entry-level classification. Its frame is high-quality welded steel, with components joined using submerged-arc welding for uniform, fatigue-resistant weld seams, a critical detail for processing heterogeneous, demanding scrap. Every component is machined on high-precision CNC work centers, ensuring precise fits, straightforward assembly, and easy part interchangeability.

That structural approach lets HAKA process material typically reserved for higher-category machines, including steel, car bodies, pipes, beams, sheets, and mixed or bulky scrap.

HAKA is part of the TAURUS shear baler range offered by ERS. Contact ERS to learn more about HAKA and the rest of the equipment lineup.

Section 232 tariffs now apply a 𝟱𝟬% 𝗱𝘂𝘁𝘆 on imported 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗹, 𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗺, and 𝗰𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗿 articles. These duties are calculated on the full customs value of the imported material, which significantly increases the cost of 𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗹 entering the United States. 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗽 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗹, however, remains outside the high‑duty category. This difference has created a clear economic shift: 𝗱𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗽 has become a more attractive feedstock for 𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 and 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 seeking to reduce tariff exposure.

For 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀 and 𝗶𝗻‑𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘀, this shift is more than a policy update; it is a direct pricing signal. Smelters benefit when they can replace tariff‑heavy virgin imports with 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗳‑𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗽, but they can only do so when the material arrives in a form that meets melt‑shop specifications. Loose, mixed, or oversized scrap does not provide that value. The margin appears only when the material is processed into 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻, 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲‑𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗹, 𝗳𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗰𝗲‑𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 feedstock.

ERS systems are built specifically to create that value. 𝗦𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 equipment reduces oversized material to melt‑shop dimensions. 𝗦𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 systems increase volume, improve uniformity, and liberate metals from composites. 𝗦𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 and 𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 systems remove contaminants and divide mixed streams into clean, single‑metal fractions. 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 systems compress the final product into dense, uniform packages that smelters can charge efficiently. 𝗗𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 and air‑handling systems maintain environmental compliance and improve the quality of downstream separation.

When these steps are performed in‑house, the recycler captures the value created by the processing rather than leaving it to someone else. Under the current Section 232 tariff structure, that value is amplified. Smelters are motivated to buy 𝗱𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗽 because it helps them avoid tariff‑inflated costs on imported virgin metal. Recyclers who can deliver 𝗳𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗰𝗲‑𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 benefit directly from this shift in demand.

ERS provides integrated systems that allow processors to run the entire chain themselves. Instead of relying on multiple vendors or piecing together incompatible machinery, a recycler can operate a complete, engineered line that transforms incoming scrap into 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵‑𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸. The result is a more predictable product, stronger pricing, and a competitive advantage created by policy rather than eroded by it.

Section 232 tariffs have changed the economics of metal sourcing in the United States. They have made 𝗱𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗽 more valuable, and they have created an opportunity for recyclers who invest in the systems that upgrade their material. ERS systems help processors turn that policy shift into 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 by producing the furnace‑ready scrap smelters increasingly prefer.

For more information or to discuss system planning, contact ERS directly.