Investment of ₹1,151 crore can supercharge India’s battery research: Report

A strategic investment of ₹1,151 crore over five years could give India a significant international lead in the development of advanced technology necessary to make batteries to electrify the vehicles of tomorrow, according to a report prepared by the Automative Research Association of India and commissioned by the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India.

A strategic investment of ₹1,151 crore over five years could give India a significant international lead in the development of advanced technology necessary to make batteries to electrify the vehicles of tomorrow, a report published on Tuesday said. The report has been prepared by the Automative Research Association of India and commissioned by the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) to the Government of India.

The ‘emobility R&D Roadmap’ breaks down necessary steps to achieve advanced capabilities in developing the technological knowhow to get a lead in battery technology. The four broad areas, or ‘buckets’, are: energy storage cells, electric vehicle aggregates, materials and recycling and, charging and refuelling. Each bucket is subdivided into projects that have timelines ranging from two to five years. The report includes a projected cost for each of these components and they cumulatively add up to ₹1,151 crore. For example: ‘solid-state electrolytes for high energy lithium batteries’ are a subproject in the ‘energy storage cells’ bucket. It is projected to take three years and cost ₹50 crore.

There are estimates of the degree of risk involved in the project ranging from ‘nil’ to ‘high’. The projects also list out technical institutions that could potentially be roped in to deliver on specific components of the project.

“This is not a roadmap that will guarantee India’s place as the world’s foremost battery-maker in the next five years. Rather it is a strategic roadmap that shows what specifically needs to be done so that we do not lose the race (to be among the leaders in battery technology),” said Karthick Athmanathan, PSA fellow and professor of practice, Indian Institute of Technology Madras. He added that the research projects had been identified by the experts on both technology deployment and market leadership as the primary objective. Priority for research projects was assigned based on their potential impact on achieving national energy independence, the probability of implementation within the set timelines, market dominance, and their ability to leverage existing infrastructure and resources.

India’s fleet of electric vehicles is primarily dependent on lithium-battery imports sourced from abroad. While there were announcements on large lithium reserves in India, they are yet to be sufficiently exploited though the government has recently paved the private sector to mine for some of these ‘rare earth’ minerals. Multiple ministries ranging from the Ministry of Heavy Industries, the Road Transport Ministry to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Resources have battery research development projects. The government has projected 30% of India’s vehicles to be electric by 2030.

“India cannot afford to be dependent on imports as far as battery and energy storage technology is concerned. This document gives specific inputs on what needs to be done to achieve this and is thus a very valuable contribution to our technological development,” said professor Ajay Sood, PSA.