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New Delhi: Representatives from top business houses in India including the JSW Group, the Adani Group, Reliance Industries and Vedanta on Wednesday met with an industry delegation from Japan to explore partnerships in the battery supply chain and critical minerals business.
The meeting is part of India’s efforts to reduce its dependence on China for sourcing key inputs and technologies required to make batteries that run everything from electric vehicles to consumer electronics and even store green power from intermittent sources like solar and wind.
During the discussions with the Japanese delegation, the JSW Group mentioned that it was implementing a three-stage plan to build a battery plant in the country and was looking for suppliers to partner with. This first stage of 20 GWh annual production capacity is expected to become operational during 2025-2027.
A second stage of 20 GWh annual capacity is expected by 2028-2030 and a final 20-GWh stage over 2030-2032.
When completed, the plant would make enough batteries to produce 1.2 million electric cars. The steel-to-power JSW Group has acquired a minority stake in the Indian unit of China’s MG Motor and has plans of expanding further in the automotive sector.
Representatives from the Vedanta group said at the conference that the company was looking to enter manufacturing of nickel cathode, a key battery part, and was currently scouting for locations for a plant in India. The aluminium and zinc major was looking for customers, suppliers and technology partners for this venture.
Reliance Industries’ representatives were also present at the conference. The oil-to-telecom behemoth has ventured into battery manufacturing and is part of a ₹18,100-crore government scheme to incentivize battery making in India. However, its maiden battery plant is current running behind schedule.
Vedanta, Adani, Reliance and JSW did not respond to Mint’s request for comment.
Around 30 companies from Japan’s Battery Association of Supply Chain were present during the talks with Indian companies, which also saw participation from firms like Amara Raja Energy, and Ola Electric who are building their own gigafactories.
The Japanese delegation consisted of around 30 companies that are part of Japan’s Battery Association of Supply Chain, which included Panasonic, Nichia, Asahi Kasei, Sumitomo Metal and Mining, among others. The primary theme of discussions between Indian and Japanese companies was the dependence on China and how the two industries can collaborate to help overcome the supply block.
The talks came amid the ongoing rare earth magnets crisis which has worried Indian automakers. China has restricted the exports of rare earth magnets which can lead to production cuts. About 90% of global rare earth magnet processing is controlled by China. Moreover, more than three-fourths production of lithium and graphite is also controlled by China.
However, the Indian companies present at the delegation were looking for Japanese companies that can immediately help them with technology transfer or knowhow to get the battery technology right.
According to a person aware of the developments, more than 40 Indian businesses took part in the discussions with the Japanese delegation.
The government is aiming for 100GWh of lithium ion battery capacity by 2030, by when one estimate suggests country’s overall demand will surge to around 127 GWh. Lithium ion batteries are used in electric vehicles as well energy storage systems.
Currently, India does not make any lithium ion battery on its own.
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