With electric vehicles fast becoming the new reality, Union Minister for MSME
and Road Transport & Highways has stressed the need to emerge as pioneers in developing
leading battery and power-train technologies.
• Noting that the challenge we presently face is the control on strategic reserves of
Lithium, which is used to manufacture Lithium-ion rechargeable batteries used in
vehicles, the Minister has called upon the EV sector to shift towards a completely
indigenous battery technology in the coming years.
Analysis
Lithium discovered in India: What does it mean for Renewables?
• The Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India has discovered 1600kg Lithium
in Mandla district of Karnataka.
o India is spending a considerable amount of money on Lithium import, which acts as
a drain to the Forex. The import bill of Lithium has risen upto three-fold between
2017 to 2020.• Lithium has widespread uses across domains. It is added to glasses and ceramics for
resistance to temperature fluctuation, it is used in heat-resistant greases and lubricants,
and it is alloyed with aluminium and copper for light weight aerial components.
• Lithium is also used in psychiatric medications and in dental imprints.
• The lighter of two lithium isotopes is used in the production of Tritium, a key component
of nuclear weapons.
• The most widespread and well-known use of Lithium is in the Lithium-ion (Li-ion)
battery.
• Some of the most common applications of lithium-ion batteries are power backup
appliances, mobile phones, laptops, and other commonly used electric goods.
• India’s first Lithium plant has been set up at Gujarat in 2021.
• The growing demand for Lithium in India is driven by the goal of Indian government to
become one of the largest electric vehicle markets world over.
o NITI Aayog has set an ambitious target to increase the number of electric vehicles by
30 percent by 2030.
• While we have discovered 1600kg Lithium reserves, other countries are far ahead in
Lithium discovery and export.
• Bolivia is the leading producer with 2.10 crore tonnes lithium reserves, and Argentina
has 1.70 crore tonnes of Lithium.
• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) manufactures these batteries, but their
quantity is presently limited, and they are severely restricted in use.
• The element is promoted because it has a lot of potential in the renewable sector of the
modern energy spectrum, some of its advantages include:
• India has declared 350 GW by 2030 as its renewable energy goals. Lithium discovery is a
crucial step to making India self-reliant in the renewable sector and achieve the energy
goals.
Four-fold jump in Li-ion battery imports since 2016 (from an article in the Hindu
dated Feb 2020)
• India has quadrupled its imports of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries and more than tripled
its import bill on the product, vital for powering a range of devices from cellphones to
electric vehicles, from 2016-2018.• Indian manufacturers source Li-ion batteries from China, Japan and South Korea and the
country is among the largest importers in the world.
• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) manufactures such batteries but
volumes are limited and they are restricted for use in space applications.
• In June 2018, Central Electro Chemical Research Institute (CECRI) in Tamil Nadu’s
Karaikudi, under the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) and RAASI Solar
Power Pvt Ltd signed a Memorandum of Agreement for transfer of technology for India’s
first lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery project.
• To promote indigenous development of such batteries, the Union Cabinet in 2019
approved a programme, called a National Mission on Transformative Mobility and
Battery Storage in the NITI Aayog (chaired by CEO NITI Aayog) to “drive clean,
connected, shared, sustainable and holistic mobility initiatives.”
• Electric vehicles are expected to account for a significant share in the growth of the Liion
battery demand in India though reports say this is unlikely at least until 2025,
because electric cars are still significantly costlier than their combustion-engine
counterparts.
• The government has announced investments worth $1.4 billion to make India one of the
largest manufacturing hubs for electric vehicles by 2040.
What’s so special about lithium?
• In a lithium-ion battery, lithium metal migrates through the battery from one electrode
to the other as a lithium ion.
• Lithium is one of the lightest elements, and it has the strongest electrochemical potential
of any element.
• This enables a lithium-based battery to pack a lot of energy storage in a small, light
battery.
• As a result, lithium-ion batteries have become the battery of choice in many
consumer electronics such as laptops and cell phones.
Lithium-ion Batteries Gain Momentum
• Because of the inherent advantages in lithium-ion batteries, sales have grown
exponentially since the turn of the century. This has helped drive down costs
consistentl• However, one country has seized the momentum and established a commanding market
lead over its competitors in this space. But it’s not the U.S., where much of the critical
research and development that created the lithium-ion battery took place.
China in the Driver’s Seat
• China is home to 73% of the global lithium cell manufacturing capacity, followed by the
U.S., far behind in second place with 12% of global capacity.
o Note: Top producers of lithium in the world as in 2019:
v Australia: 51,000 MT
v Chile: 16,000 MT
v China: 8,000 MT
• China has a major advantage of cheap labor, which has allowed it to dominate many
manufacturing industries.
o But China also has more lithium reserves and much greater lithium production
than the U.S. (so at least two reasons)
• The soft, silvery metal lithium is also known as “white petroleum.”
• Japan’s Sony was the company that first commercialized the technology, but China was
able to catch up because of its ability to manufacture the batteries at larger scales and
sell them for cheaper.
• For further details, refer to the “2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry” article in 10th
October file.
2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• It will be awarded to John D. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino
for the development of lithium-ion batteries.
• Through their work, this year’s Chemistry Laureates have laid the foundation of a
wireless, fossil fuel-free society.
• Dr. Whittingham, awarded this year’s Chemistry Prize, used lithium’s enormous drive
to release its outer electron when he developed the first functional lithium battery.
• Dr. Goodenough doubled the lithium battery’s potential, creating the right conditions
for a vastly more powerful and useful battery.