India's lithium-ion battery demand to reach 115 GWh by 2030: ICEA

EVs to drive India's lithium-ion battery demand to 115 GWh by 2030, ICEA report says, warning of $5 bn import exposure and underutilised recycling capacity

India’s demand for lithium-ion batteries is expected to reach 115 gigawatt hours (GWh) by 2030, with battery consumption from electric vehicles (EVs) projected to grow at a 48 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR), the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) and Accenture said in a report.

 

Demand for lithium-ion batteries from consumer electronics is expected to grow at 3 per cent CAGR, while demand from stationary storage devices is projected to grow at 14 per cent during the next five years, the report said. 

 

“With the rise in this demand, India faces challenges such as a rising import bill and environmental impact due to the disposal of end-of-life (EoL) LiBs,” the report noted, adding that the country currently lacks lithium-ion cell pack manufacturing capabilities and mining infrastructure, making it heavily reliant on imports.

 

Further, demand for critical battery-active materials such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese is estimated to reach 250 kilotonnes by 2030, translating into an import exposure of more than $5 billion, the report said.

 

“India’s LiB (lithium-ion battery) recycling ecosystem is confronted with substantial supply and demand challenges, resulting in the underutilisation of domestic recycling capacity and discouraging investments in potential new expansions. Currently, the mechanical and hydrometallurgy recycling plants, in most cases, are operating at ₹30–35 per cent average utilisation levels,” the report said.

 

To address this problem, the report suggested that increasing domestic cell manufacturing capacity would help generate enough demand for recycled output.

 

“This creates a domestic market for recyclers and promotes further investments and expansion, as seen in China and South Korea, where the development of hydrometallurgy recycling happened post-development of domestic cell manufacturing,” the report noted.