According to an independent report published by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, India needs investments of up to 33,750 crore ($ 4.5 billion) to meet the government PLI aim of building 50 GWh of lithium-ion cell and battery manufacturing units (CEEW). Lithium-ion batteries will mostly satisfy the nation's need for up to 903 GWh of energy storage to decarbonize its power and mobility sectors by 2030. The government said earlier this month that it has discovered inferred lithium deposits totaling 5.9 million tonnes in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district.
One of the essential elements of the batteries used in electric vehicles is lithium, a non-ferrous metal. According to the Economic Survey 2022–23, India's electric vehicle market is anticipated to reach annual sales of 1 crore units by 2030. India's demand is anticipated to rise dramatically, and the CEEW research "How can India indigenously manufacture lithium-ion batteries?" estimates the material and financial requirements and provides a roadmap for the domestic strategy. The minimum manufacturing plant capacity allotted under the PLI system is 5 GWh, upon which the study is based. A 5 GWh plant will demand 250 GWh of power yearly, therefore these plants will also be energy-intensive and require a low-cost,
dependable power source. Minerals like lithium will be just as crucial for a sustainable future as oil and gas are now. Rishabh Jain, senior programme lead, CEEW, stated that it is in India's strategic interest to secure not just the mineral but also to establish the necessary cell and battery manufacturing infrastructure domestically. It will power our grid transformation and lessen our long-term reliance on other nations. With the elimination of taxes on machinery used in battery manufacture and the provision of viability gap funding for battery projects, this year's Budget demonstrates India's commitment to tackling these issues. India should increase R&D spending, concentrate on producing battery cell components, lower material costs, and encourage recycling to lessen the need for new materials in order to scale up domestic lithium-ion manufacturing, the expert continued.
Between 2022 and 2030, India will require 969–1,452 kilotonnes of anode, cathode, and electrolyte material to meet its total battery demand. Because to this, the nation must also give alternative energy storage technologies top priority. In order to maintain competitiveness, the CEEW study suggested concentrating on the strategic sourcing of essential minerals and pushing for research, development, and demonstration in all technologies.
It was crucial to reduce the cost of making batteries through advancing manufacturing techniques, changing policies to lower the cost of cell components, and innovating new manufacturing methods. "The process of India's energy transition will be significantly impacted by the development and use of batteries. India currently depends on imports, but the government has already begun mobilising funds to domesticate the production of battery cells, according to research analyst Dhruv Warrior.
"Mineral processing and component production, however, are not the main areas of attention. According to the report, upstream component manufacturing and material processing can account for up to 61 percent of total production. In order to indigenize this portion of the value chain as well, India must advance its infrastructure, technological know-how, and skill-building capacities, he said.
