India’s gigafactory ambitions have three doors to get through

The Indian government is on the cusp of announcing an ambitious plan to put India firmly on the global gigafactory map by 2024. But lacking key raw material, tech, and equipment, India will struggle to climb the ranks of Asia’s most powerful economies

India’s imports of lithium-ion batteries swelled 6X to $1.2 billion between 2015-18. China, which has three gigafactories, supplies over 90% of this

Niti Aayog's draft plan, full of tax breaks and subsidies, aims to generate 50 GWh power from lithium-ion cell production by 2024

But there are no takers. Panasonic’s on the fence and LG Chem has already scaled back investment plans

India’s refusal to join the RCEP trade pact has left it to chart a lonely path to lithium-ion self sufficiency

Elon Musk, CEO of auto major Tesla, believes that 100 gigafactories could sustainably power the whole world through a new, ascending global currency. Lithium.

Musk might be the visionary here, but it’s the Chinese who’ve captured the lithium zeitgeist.

Hitting its stride a decade earlier than India, China not only strategically stockpiled a supply of essential minerals but also laid out elaborate subsidies to completely localise the ore-to-battery supply chain. This was helped by a wafer-thin wall between the private sector and the state.

Today, the country is home to three of the world’s largest gigafactories.

AUTHOR

Olina Banerji

Based in Delhi, Olina writes about mega-trends in urban mobility, education, skilling and the environment, with a focus on how institutions and innovations can help cities grow sustainably. She is a graduate of the London School of Economics, and has worked previously with India Today and global non-profit Ashoka.

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