THE TREASURE CHEST FOR CVS

The discovery of lithium-ion reserves in India changes the India-EV equation. Ashish Bhatia explains the big deal about the new found, treasure chest for electric CVs.

- Ashish Bhatia

The Indian EV industry wore a scar despite vying for a ‘Made in India’ status. The imports of lithium-ion battery packs until local produce pick up pace proved a sore point for the industry. It continues to dictate EV prices despite the fall of battery costs at a 10 per cent CAGR estimated by Bloomberg between 2018-24. Despite the subsidies extended under schemes like the FAME II scheme and incentivisation through Production Linked Incentive (PLI) for Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC), the EV ecosystem weighs under the high procurement costs of rare earth metals like lithium. The PLI outlay alone is Rs.18,100 crore for five years from May 2021, to give a perspective. No wonder then, the recent discovery of lithium in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) has given a new lease of life to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) betting big on EVs. More and more EV players are today collaborating with companies they can leverage to have greater control of the end-to-end value chain for standardisation and realisation of better Economies of Scale (EOS).