The vision of an electric car should not get out of hand.

The auto industry is quietly and resolutely preparing for the electric car(EV) revolution. In the past three years, no less than 22 OEM manufacturers have registered as electric car manufacturers and plan to produce 77 EV variants. At the same time, we have seen a lot of debate about India's EV vision. The main belief is that India needs internal combustion and electric vehicle technology to survive and coexist. There are many reasons for this belief; But this article aims to focus on batteries.

Whether it's a pure electric car or a hybrid car, one of the most common things is the battery-really making cars generate electricity. Lithium-ion batteries based on various chemical components of lithium are widely considered to be a long-term component of all electric vehicles. However, the vision of electric vehicles often assumes that batteries will be adequately supplied at an unprecedented low price, which in turn assumes that the basic components of lithium-ion batteries will always be surplus.

Often, the risk of any growth story is not high, which is a resource strain that is critical to driving growth. In fact, the recent Kearney study has actually determined that the supply of core components that make up lithium-ion batteries (including lithium and cobalt) will increasingly become a cause of concern. Although global supply does not seem to be sufficient to meet cobalt demand, the ability to extract and extract lithium can be a bottleneck.

Not surprisingly, demand and prices for cobalt have risen steadily since 2016, from less than $30,000(MT) per metric ton to $60,000 per ton. They are now above the $90,000 per ton mark. In addition, reports of attempts by electronic original equipment manufacturers to procure cobalt directly from miners indicate an imminent shortage of supplies. On the other hand, lithium also shows a similar trend-between 2011 and 2016, prices rose only from about 4,000 U.S. dollars per ton to 8,000 U.S. dollars per ton, and between 2016 and early 2018, prices rose sharply to 16, More than $1,000 per ton. Trends pose great challenges for India, as our country relies mainly on the global market for these metals.

Given the limited availability, it is important to see new energy storage technologies that can be used for mobile applications. This may mean non-cobalt lithium chemicals or new storage technologies. In addition, lithium batteries still have the remaining service life after reaching the end of the mobile application, which means that lithium batteries can find a second service life when fixed. In fact, plans to reuse "end-of-life" batteries should be part of any case of an electric mobile business.

Even after the second use, the battery will finally reach its useful life. What happens when internal chemicals run out of all their cycles? Battery recycling, especially lithium batteries, is still in its early stages around the world. Any desire to drive the economy of electrification of cars and batteries? What? Other uses need to consider the economy of end-of-life batteries. In India, the traditional lead-acid battery business has succeeded in creating a parallel battery decomposition and recycling industry. It is easier to operate these; But treating lithium and its chemicals is a completely different ball game. Globally, however, there are some signs of progress in the lithium recovery process. The Belgian recycling group Unicore today operates a dedicated recycling facility with a capacity of 7,000 tons per year-equivalent to 35,000 electric car batteries. American market leader Retriev, who runs three locations, and Giga-factory of Tesla will have on-site recycling and refurbishment facilities.

We now need to step back and consider creating an enabling enterprise ecosystem, focusing on four key factors needed for electric car growth: raw material supply, reuse, recycling and resale.

We believe that the first key step will be to ensure that domestically focused investments in the development of economically used lithium chemicals for the first time can reduce the risk of shortages of raw materials. In addition, storage technologies with higher energy densities should be developed and applied to mobile applications.

The first in the business can learn. The second use of lithium batteries is an important consideration for all key players in the electric car business. India's renewable energy agenda, micro-grid plans and power backup requirements provide a seamless way to plan for second life applications. We recommend that industry participants break through traditional boundaries and work together to create viable businesses.

Finally, let's not unwittingly replace and recycle batteries. The technology development and investment cycle will be long. Therefore, there is an urgent need to consider battery recycling operations, related capabilities and policies. The growth of electric vehicles can only be sustained if we plan the entire life cycle of batteries, from raw materials to reuse and recycling. Early warning shows signs of resource constraints, and it is therefore prudent to recognize these signs and develop national strategies to mitigate these risks.

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