As part of India’s energy security plans, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) has taken up seven lithium exploration projects in Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Jammu & Kashmir and Rajasthan.
Besides, the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMDER) under Department Atomic Energy (DAE) has undertaken lithium exploration in Karnataka and Rajasthan. This information was shared by mines, coal and parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi in Lok Sabha.
This comes in the backdrop of the union government announcing a ₹18,100 crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme to make lithium-ion cells in order to promote e-mobility in India. However, India does not have enough lithium reserves for manufacturing lithium-ion batteries, with lithium also having other uses such as in mobile phone batteries, solar panels, aerospace and thermonuclear fusion. Almost all-electric vehicles in the country run on imported batteries, chiefly from China.
It bears significance given that Chinese state-owned firms have already secured lithium mine concessions in countries such as Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile, which forms the so-called lithium triangle.
Securing lithium supplies will play a major role in Indian energy majors pivot towards the country’s green economy.
Securing lithium supplies, a key raw material for making batteries, follows the Asian majors’ quest for buying oil and gas fields overseas, which saw a resource race in geographies such as Africa (spreading geopolitical leverage as well).