Mounting risks with the use of lithium-ion-batteries

India does not have enough lithium reserves for manufacturing lithium-ion batteries and almost all electric vehicles in the country run on batteries imported mostly from China. “Lithium content in a cell is less than 4 percent (including electrolytes). So major portion of the cells for localisation. Usage of lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles in the country are imported mostly from China. There have been at least four incidents of two-wheeler vehicles, powered by lithium-ion batteries bursting into flames.

The question is what are Li-ion batteries, and how do they work? What caused these vehicles to catch fire? 90% of the world’s manufacturing of Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) is done in China. India doesn’t have a manufacturing facility for lithium-ion batteries and, as a result, all manufacturers import cells and battery packs. Indian original equipment manufacturers need government support for making lithium cells for the long term. Securing lithium supply could help in making batteries at a globally competitive price, with the potential to reduce the price of EVs.

India is already the number one manufacturer and market for two and three wheelers in the world and, hence, this presents the opportunity to lead in the EV segment too. India has become one of the largest markets for electric vehicles. But it has not developed core manufacturing capability and has been a peripheral assembler where over 50% of the critical components have to be imported into the country for production.

Replacing Chinese products is easier said than done, however, in the coming days, the import burden and technology dependence is going to ease in the coming days. The path breaking innovation by IIT-Delhi along with Indian technocrats for bringing Aluminium ion batteries could replace the Lithium batteries in the coming days.

India is among the few countries that support the global EV30@30 campaign, which targets at least 30 percent new vehicle sales to be electric by 2030. The government has lined up a series of policy initiatives such as the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric (FAME) subsidy programme to create an enabling environment. State-run Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL) is working with the authorities in Argentina, Chile, Australia and Bolivia for acquiring lithium and cobalt mines overseas. These nations are rich in lithium reserves.

The country is also working on urban mining where recycled materials remain in circulation and this reduces the dependency on fresh lithium inputs. This will further bring down the requirement of imports. India does not have enough lithium reserves for manufacturing lithium-ion batteries and almost all electric vehicles in the country run on batteries imported mostly from China. To achieve the mission, China invested not only in the mining and processing of rare-earths but also became a leading producer of electric controllers, DC motors, miniature circuit breakers, axle assemblies, brushless motors, lithium-ion batteries along with solar panels, charging stations, and storage systems. India started a decade later.

India has adopted a multi-modal strategy to reduce its dependence on imported lithium and give fresh impetus to the growth of the local electric vehicles (EV) industry.