India seeks partnership in lithium processing to cut China reliance
India is in talks with several countries seeking partnerships for technical help on lithium processing, said four people familiar with the matter, to bolster its nascent lithium mining and electric vehicle industries and avoid relying on China.
The ministry of mines began discussions with Australia and the US last year, said the four peole, two government officials and two industry participants. The government and some private companies have also sought help from Bolivia, Britain, Japan, and South Korea, said the people, who did not wish to be identified as the discussions were not public.
Executives from Russia’s
TENEX, part of state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom, approached the Indian government and have held at least two meetings with Indian officials this year, offering lithium processing technology and the possibility of collaborating with Indian companies, a senior government official with direct knowledge of the plans.
The discussions illustrate efforts by India, the world’s third-largest carbon emitter and oil importer, to develop a lithium mining industry that could provide the chemical feedstocks for batteries for its domestic electric vehicle (EV) industry which could help cut its greenhouse gas emissions and oil dependence.
TENEX, Russia’s ministry of industry and trade and India’s ministry of mines did not respond to emails from seeking comments. Russia’s Rosatom declined to comment.
The central government is in the process of auctioning its first mining rights to lithium blocks, which were discovered last year in the Jammu and Kashmir region and the states of Chhattisgarh.