India Needs Rs 33,750 Crore To Set Up Lithium-Ion Battery Manufacturing Plants: Report

The report claims that the country requires up to 903 GWh of energy storage to decarbonise its mobility and power sectors by 2030, and lithium-ion batteries will meet the majority of this demand

One of the essential elements of the batteries used in electric vehicles is lithium, a non-ferrous metal.

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India will require investment worth up to Rs 33,750 crore to achieve the goal of setting up 50 GWh of lithium-ion cell and battery manufacturing plants under the government PLI target, reported PTI citing a study by a think tank. 

On Tuesday, a Delhi-based think-tank the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) released a study, which claims that the country requires up to 903 GWh of energy storage to decarbonise its mobility and power sectors by 2030, and lithium-ion batteries will meet the majority of this demand. "India needs investments worth up to Rs 33,750 crore ($4.5 billion) to achieve the government PLI target of setting up 50 GWh of lithium-ion cell and battery manufacturing plants," CEEW’s report said, adding that at the time of writing the report, the conversion rate was taken as Rs 75 per dollar.

According to the Economic Survey 2022–23, India's electric vehicle market is anticipated to reach annual sales of 1 crore units by 2030. According to industry projections, India will sell 10 lakh EVs overall in 2022, the report said. 

One of the essential elements of the batteries used in electric vehicles is lithium, a non-ferrous metal. Earlier this month, the government announced that 5.9 million tonnes of lithium reserves were found in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir.

"For a green future, lithium will be as important as oil and gas are today. It's in India's strategic interest to secure not just the mineral, but also set up the required cell and battery manufacturing systems within the country," said Rishabh Jain, senior programme lead, CEEW. He said that it will reduce India's imports in the long run, and power its grid and EV transition. To scale up domestic lithium-ion manufacturing, India should step up R&D investments, focus on battery cell component manufacturing and reducing material costs, and support recycling to reduce the need for new materials. 

According to the study report, to fulfill the overall battery demand, India will need 969-1,452 kilotonnes of anode, cathode, and electrolyte material (the components for a battery) between 2022 and 2030. This requires the country to prioritise other energy storage technologies as well. The study recommends focusing on the strategic sourcing of critical minerals and pushing for research, development, and demonstration in all technologies to retain competitiveness.

Dhruv Warrior, research analyst, said, "The focus on mineral processing and component manufacturing are, however, limited. The study estimates that the share of upstream component manufacturing and material processing can be as high as 61 per cent…going forward, India must develop its capabilities to build skills, technology know-how and infrastructure to indigenise this part of the value chain too."