Relooking At EV Batteries Manufacturing

There are many instances where batteries of Electric Vehicles (EV) have caught fire. These instances are few and far in between, and the real elephant in the room is supply of EV battery supply chain ecosystem in India. These issues range from the availability of raw materials for batteries, global best practices, battery swapping, and the requirement of the famed Lithium-ion battery while promoting the recycling of waste.

Talking about this, Jasmeet Singh Kalsi, Director, Manikaran Lithium says, “Cost of setting up a factory here are 150 million USD, lesser than anywhere else. We are right now in China. When it comes to availability, India has to enter into contracts globally.” India is clearly highly competitive when it comes to Lithium Ion batteries and EVs. The time taken to establish EV facilities is also very little compared to developed countries. We have all the enablers in line. In India, we need to put up Lithium batteries to achieve economies of scale and achieve a good price factor.

Talking about the battery, Raman Sharma, MD, Exigo India says, “India is very good when it comes to electronics, we can do it locally. The cells in the coming days can also be made locally. However, the sale is hard, given that FAME India requires a three-year warranty. If the manufacturer is in India, it will be very easy.” Indian batteries are designed as per Indian conditions and are extremely resilient.

Another keystone of EV battery durability is battery disposal. Repurposing has challenges and there is a lot of variation in battery health. We are yet to establish standards. Policy making and design have to pay heed to these factors. We also need viability to cap funding and specific chemistry in our policy matter. The global passport program and global battery alliance are also focused on the ethical aspects of battery disposals.

When we import the cell, knowing its grade is important, 3C or 5C grade. The second is BMS, which will prevent fires from happening. It controls cutoff and voltage. People are now compromising on BMS quality because the market is getting competitive. These are some niche aspects one has to look into when choosing an EV battery. AIS156 and 038 standards have been put forth by the government after battery explosions, which will further strengthen the EV battery market.
Talking about the industry initiatives, Darshit H Jaju, head-battery and renewable energy, Hindalco Industries, “We are actively working on Sodium, Aluminium, and Lithium-ion. We are going to set up a full-fledged plant for this, for EV batteries…. We are working with an Israeli tech company and IOC for the adoption of Aluminium batteries.” These elements can be used across the board, for different batteries. We cannot depend on overseas players for battery raw materials.