India's Critical Mineral Challenge

Indian electric vehicle (EV) makers are beginning to feel the impact of the curbs imposed by China on rare earth magnet exports.

- PROSENJIT DATTA

Rare earth magnets are critical inputs for electric motors and other auto parts. On April 4, China placed restrictions on rare earth exports, and newspaper reports suggest that Indian auto component and automobile companies are close to exhausting their current inventories of rare earth magnets. A delegation from the industry is apparently planning to go to China to see if it can negotiate a solution to the new procedural bottlenecks that are choking supplies. Indian EV companies are also meeting with Union commerce ministry officials to seek help.

The problem of rare earth magnet supplies is an indicator of how India's EV and clean power ambitions are hostage to imports—mostly from China. It's not just rare earth magnets; India is heavily dependent on imports for its entire requirement of rare earth elements (REEs)—a group of 17 minerals classified as lanthanides in the periodic table. REEs are critical in several areas—the green energy transition, electronics, including defense electronics, and a few others. While only minuscule amounts of these are required, they are nonetheless essential inputs.