cobalt

As India ramps up solar installations and EV deployments, the volume of end-of-life components will grow rapidly. If these are treated simply as waste, we create new environmental burdens and miss a chance to recover value. If, instead, they are viewed as sources of supply, they become part of the solution.

India’s Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) programme for cell manufacturing has attracted investment into gigafactories and electrode production, but local manufacturing can only succeed if it has access to steady, domestic mineral feedstock. Recovered materials from end-of-life batteries can supply a meaningful share of that requirement, provided there is strong collection infrastructure, organised supply aggregation, and investment in processing technologies.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved an INR 1,500 crore incentive scheme to develop recycling capacity in the country for the separation and production of critical minerals from secondary sources.

India is well-placed to advance the e-mobility circular economy in Asia against the backdrop of the fast-growing market and recycling strategies. Adopting the 5Rs—Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Remanufacture, and Recycle—can help in reducing resource depletion and waste.

Given the demand and the unavailability of Lithium, Nickel, Cobalt, Manganese, and Rare Earth Elements (REEs) in sufficient quantities, as a nation, we may be staring at a scenario we had with crude.

At a time when many countries struggle with energy nationalism and policy flip-flops, India’s independent power producer (IPP)-driven model offers a decentralised, market-based, and scalable solution to clean energy growth. Their role in catalysing 250 GW of new capacity by 2030 will be central to India’s climate pledges under the Paris Agreement and its goal of net-zero emissions by 2070.

Rather than viewing battery recycling as waste management, it should be reframed as an economic and industrial opportunity. Advanced recycling techniques can recover up to 95% of lithium, cobalt, and nickel, reducing India’s reliance on raw material imports.

India should invest in resource-rich, friendly nations for sourcing of critical minerals such lithium, cobalt and nickel. The nation should minimise its reliance on imports, especially from countries with a potential trade risk in the future.

While electronics and EV growth is a boon, it also underscores the need for sustainable growth and practices. Battery recycling is a key component of this sustainability, with environmental, economic and social benefits.

Advancement in mineral processing and beneficiation technology remains critical for commercialisation of domestic critical mineral resources.