India has discovered 5.9 million tonnes of lithium reserves in Jammu and Kashmir. This is the country’s first major discovery and experts believe it will help India advance its goal of increasing production of electric vehicles (EVs).
According to the Geological Survey of India, it was found in the Salal Haimana area in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir. statement Issued by Indian Atomic Energy Authority.
The Ministry of Mines submitted a report on this, along with other 15 resource-bearing geological reports and 35 geological notes, to the relevant state governments on February 9.
The Geological Survey of India has established for the first time lithium with an Inferred Resource (G3) of 5.9 million tonnes in the Salal-Haimana area of Reasi district, Jammu & Kashmir (UT).@GeologyIndia
1/2 pic.twitter.com/tH5uv2BL9m
— Ministry of Mines (@MinesMinIndia) February 9, 2023
Lithium is a key element in lithium-ion batteries, a key component in smartphones, laptops and electric vehicles.
India previously discovered 1,600 tons In February 2021, we explored lithium reserves in the Mandya district of Karnataka. The latest findings are expected to help reach the country’s goal of achieving 30% EV adoption by 2030.
There are 98 million tons of lithium in the world and India has discovered 5.5% of these scarce resources. reportciting officials from the Delhi-based Energy, Environment and Water Council.
Adoption of EV in India
Deepak Krishnan, Associate Director of research firm WRI India, said lithium reserves have been classified as an ‘inferred resource’, indicating that further exploration efforts are needed to convert the inferred resource into a usable category. said that
“There are several stages of assessment in identifying the proven lithium reserves at the Salal-Haimana deposit. You can help the EV battery industry.
“This builds on previous announcements of lithium deposits in Karnataka and now the focus must shift to assessing commercial mining potential,” he added. rice field.
Pankaj Sharma, director of Indian nanotechnology company Log9 Materials, said: business today The lack of availability of lithium has forced India to rely on imports of batteries and other EV components, but the latest discoveries may change this.
“Lithium is one of the core elements of lithium-ion batteries, and considering the economic impact of lithium procurement, lithium reserves have recently been discovered. [Jammu and Kashmir] It will emerge as a new lease of life to further enable India’s ambition to become self-sufficient in its energy storage needs,” Sharma said.
China now dominates global EV production and is well ahead of its domestic adoption of new energy vehicles. The China Passenger Car Association expects sales of new energy vehicles, mainly EVs, to reach 8.5 million units this year, accounting for 36% of his total new car sales.
Despite the new momentum in India, the question for the country is whether it will be enough to finally shake off its dependence on fossil fuels.
“Limited charging infrastructure, low EV production in the country and high EV battery costs are factors in sustaining EV penetration in the long term,” FGE oil market analyst Dylan Shim told Reuters. has become a major obstacle to
India’s progress has been modest by global comparison, but EVs registered last year tripled from 2021 to 1.01 million, mostly two- and three-wheelers.
EVs make up only 1% of the 3 million cars sold each year, but New Delhi wants to increase this to 30% by 2030.
The government launched the Facilitating Electric Vehicle Adoption and Manufacturing (FAME) scheme in 2015 to promote EVs through purchase subsidies and production incentives.
Minister of Heavy Industry Mahendra Nath Pandey said last year that EV sales in India had dropped from 19,100 in the period 2019-2020 when the scheme was first launched to 442,901 as of 9 December 2022. said to have increased to the table.
India’s state-owned refiner, which controls fuel retailers, plans to install EV charging facilities at more than 22,000 fuel stations and highways by 2024.
Reuters contributed to this report.