India and its electric vehicle industry are all set to make a breakthrough with respect to the production of Lithium-ion batteries, as researchers from the Atomic Minerals Directorate, which is a unit of the Atomic Energy Commission of India have discovered over 30,300 tonnes of Lithium Oxide reserves in a small patch of land in Mandya (100km from Bengaluru). This would in turn reciprocate to over 14,100 tonnes of raw Lithium.
“The present data provide a total estimation of available Li2O as about 30,300 tonnes over an area of 0.5 km x 5 km, which works out to about 14,100 tonnes of lithium metal,” N Munichandraiah, Emeritus Professor at the Indian Institute of Science, told The Economic Times. If this discovery was to be compared to major global producers like Chile, Portugal, and other countries, the reserves in Mandya appear futile as, N Munichandraiah being an expert in battery technologies puts it, “If one compares with 8.6 million tonnes in Chile, 2.8 million tonnes in Australia, 1.7 million tonnes in Argentina or 60,000 tonnes in Portugal, 14,100 tonnes is not that large.”
India’s import of lithium batteries tripled to $1.2 billion in the fiscal year 2019 from $384 million in 2017. By the end of 2019, the country’s lithium battery imports stood at $929 million, according to data shared by the Minister of Science and Technologies, Dr.Harsh Vardhan in Parliament. In 2018, India and Bolivia signed an MoU for the development and industrial utility of lithium for the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries. As a part of the MoU, Bolivia would facilitate the supply of lithium and lithium carbonate to India, as well as joint ventures between the two countries for Li-ion battery manufacturing factories in India. As a result of which, eminent companies like Exide, BHEL, Suzuki Motor Corporation in collaboration with Datsun and Denso are taking the initiative of setting up mega factories for the production of Lithium-ion batteries.
Therefore, it cannot be denied that the government has not taken comprehensive steps in terms of acquiring global support. Also, the norms under the Extended Producer Responsibility which is a policy of the Government of India which makes it compulsory for all battery producers to collect the batteries that reach the end of their shelf life for recycling.
This discovery is a ray of hope to the EV industry as it not only cuts down the existing dependency on imported batteries but also opens the avenue for researchers and the government to develop policies that tap and harness such local reserves and ensure that these efforts collectively elevate India’s position in the EV realm in totality.