World EV Day: Making electric mobility affordable, one battery cell at a time

Electric mobility is often presented as a sustainability story. Increasingly, it is becoming an affordability story as well.

For years, the case of electric mobility was built around cleaner air, lower emission and reduced dependence on fossil fuels. However, recent geopolitical disruptions and energy market volatility has added another important aspect: energy security. The recent West Asia crisis has blatantly exposed the vulnerabilities associated with dependence on imported crude oil.  For countries like India, which imports a significant portion of energy requirements, reducing this dependence has become both economic and strategic requirement.

The direction of goal is clear. Electric mobility is no longer a niche segment; it is moving into mainstream. Yet the next stage of the transition will be defined by one fundamental question: How do we make electric vehicles affordable for everyone?

The answer increasingly lies inside the battery.

Much of the progress in EV affordability over the past decade has been driven by declining battery costs, enabled by advances in chemistry, materials engineering, manufacturing scale, and supply-chain efficiency.

The next wave of cost reduction will majorly depend on innovation across battery materials rather than cell production alone. Battery costs have fallen drastically from around $500 per kWh four years ago to roughly $80–100 per kWh today, and innovation continue to drive the cost down.

A globally competitive EV ecosystem cannot be built simply by importing critical materials and technologies while assembling cells domestically. This is where India’s opportunity becomes particularly important. Long-term competitiveness will depend on creating a strong domestic ecosystem, spanning battery materials, advanced chemistries, cell manufacturing, recycling and supporting infrastructure. Greater backward integration, technology ownership, and economies of scale, will be essential if India is to emerge as a meaningful player in the global EV landscape.

At the heart of this effort lies research and development.

Battery technology is evolving rapidly. What is considered competitive today may not necessarily remain competitive tomorrow. As requirements around charging speed, driving range, safety, durability, and cost continue to evolve, sustained investment in innovation becomes critical. The countries and companies that lead the next chapter of electric mobility will be those that continuously improve battery performance while reducing cost.

Silicon-carbon anode technology is rapidly emerging as the most promising developments in battery innovation.

Graphite has traditionally remained the dominant anode material in lithium-ion batteries, owing to its proven stability and reliability. Silicon, however, has ability to store significantly more lithium. Combining Silicon with carbon creates the potential for batteries with higher energy density, faster charging capabilities and improved driving range without a proportional increase in size or weight. As the industry seeks to overcome some of the key constraints facing EV adoption, silicon-carbon technologies could play an increasingly important role.

At the same time, there is continued development in the LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) chemistry. LFP has rapidly emerged as one of the most promising battery chemistries for electric mobility and energy storage due to its safety, thermal stability, long cycle life, and cost competitiveness. Today, China dominates the global LFP ecosystem, highlighting the importance of geographically diversified supply chains and manufacturing capabilities.

Building domestic capabilities in battery materials such as LFP is about more than supply security. It is about creating a foundation for globally competitive battery ecosystem which will encourage greater participation resulting in reduced import dependence, improve supply chain resilience and support the broader vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat. Ultimately, advances in cathode and anode technologies are addressing the two major challenges that matter most to the consumers: making batteries ‘’better”’ and making them ‘’affordable’’.

Himadri is establishing the world’s first commercial LFP cathode facility and suite of anode materials outside China thereby marking India’s first major step towards changing that equation.

Technology alone, however, will not determine India’s competitiveness. Scale will matter, as much!

The development of globally competitive battery-material ecosystems requires sustained investment, patient capital, supportive policies, and collaboration between industry, academia, and government. Incentive frameworks can play an important role during the early stages of capability creation, helping industries build scale, accelerate innovation, and develop critical supply chains. Over time, however, competitiveness must be driven by technology, operational excellence, and innovation rather than permanent dependence on subsidies.

India’s potential is huge. The country has shown strong adoption phase across multiple vehicle segments, and electric mobility is steadily moving beyond early-adopter phase. The next challenge is making EV affordable to much larger segment of consumers.

That is precisely where battery innovation can make its greatest contribution.

World EV Day is therefore not merely an occasion to count how many electric vehicles are on the road. It is an opportunity to reflect on how those vehicles are made, what powers them, and where the underlying technologies originate. India’s EV ambition will ultimately be measured not by how many batteries it assembles, but by how much of the battery value chain it creates, owns, and innovates within.

Making electric mobility affordable will require many breakthroughs. Most of them will begin inside the battery itself.