India needs to invest $10 bn for manufacturing of EV Li-ion batteries by 2030, says Report
New Delhi: India needs to invest about $10 billion to boost cell manufacturing and raw material refining to meet domestic demand for lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles by 2030, according to a report.
India's lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery demand is currently 3 GWh and is set to grow to 20 GWh by 2026 and 70 GWh by 2030, as per the report by management consulting firm Arthur D Little.
At present, India imports almost 70 per cent of its Li-ion cell requirement from China and Hong Kong, it added citing reports by Ministry of Mines.
"By 2030, just to serve the local demand of Li-ion batteries, India would need upwards of an estimated $10 billion investments in cell manufacturing capacity, with additional investments in raw material refining capacities," it said.
As a consequence, the report further said this would create one million or more jobs in the battery manufacturing and related ancillary businesses and services.
It said India can learn a lot from China which has aggressively expanded in the EV battery space over the last 10 years, conquering each part of the supply chain to emerge as the dominant player in e-mobility.
China now leads in next-generation EVs through large investments in R&D, favourable government policies, foreign direct investment inflows, and aggressive acquisition of raw material resources across geographies, the report added.
"Taking lessons from India's neighbour in the north, improved access to raw materials can be provided in multiple ways, including reduction of import duties on raw materials, improving bilateral ties with countries rich in natural resources of the raw materials, and encouraging Indian companies to acquire those resources," it said.
