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India","electric-india","article/electric-india",{"_uid":547,"date":548,"tags":549,"editor":553,"content":563,"excerpt":935,"featured":50,"reporter":936,"_editable":940,"component":941,"seo_title":543,"categories":942,"visibility":949,"author_company":49,"featured_image":950,"seo_description":935,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":955,"formattedArticleDate":956},"fc168060-63c3-413f-bc41-eb97871d8bd6","2020-01-27 00:00",[550],{"slug":551,"name":552},"india","India",[554],{"slug":555,"name":556,"content":557},"matthew-bird","Matthew Bird",{"job_title":558,"image":559,"bio":561,"linkedin":562},"Senior Editor - Supply Chains & Data Visualisation",{"filename":560},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/14738033ec/matthew-bird.jpeg","Matthew writes, edits and produces content for Benchmark Intelligence and Benchmark Source across the whole mine to grid supply chain. He also acts as a liaison to the press. He has a PhD in electrochemistry from the University of Nottingham.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/birdmatthew/",{"type":564,"content":565},"doc",[566,577,582,591,598,605,610,615,620,627,632,637,642,649,654,661,666,671,676,681,688,696,705,712,717,722,727,732,741,746,755,760,765,770,777,782,787,794,799,804,809,814,819,824,829,834,841,846,852,857,865,872,877,882,889,894,905,910,918,925,930],{"type":567,"attrs":568,"content":569},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[570,573,575],{"text":571,"type":572},"Most mornings in New Delhi, a haze gathers across the cityscape, as pollution from the city’s endless vehicles and factories. This pollution is something that the government is now calling an ‘economic’ threat to India as much as an environmental health one. ","text",{"text":574,"type":572},"Benchmark Minerals ",{"text":576,"type":572},"can vouch for this; on a recent visit to Delhi our flight’s landing was delayed due to high pollution levels preventing the pilot from landing safely.",{"type":567,"attrs":578,"content":579},{"textAlign":49},[580],{"text":581,"type":572},"“We have 12 of the most 15 polluted cities in the world,” explained Pawan Munjal CEO of Hero, India’s leading scooter manufacturer, which is the country’s most popular mode of transportation.",{"type":567,"attrs":583,"content":584},{"textAlign":49},[585,587,589],{"text":586,"type":572},"“[Since the Olympics], Beijing is no longer in the top 10,” he said at WION’s E-Mobility Conference in New Delhi where both India’s Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and ",{"text":588,"type":572},"Benchmark Minerals’ ",{"text":590,"type":572},"Managing Director, Simon Moores shared the stage.",{"type":567,"attrs":592,"content":593},{"textAlign":49},[594,596],{"text":595,"type":572},"India’s pollution problem is difficult to ignore. In 2018 New Delhi topped the list of",{"text":597,"type":572},"the most polluted capital cities in Air Visual’s pollution report based on PM 2.5 data, which represents the number of airborne particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns per cubic metre of air. In that same report, India came third in the list of the world’s most polluted countries, with only its neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh coming ahead of it.",{"type":599,"attrs":600,"content":602},"heading",{"level":601,"textAlign":49},6,[603],{"text":604,"type":572},"Support from the top",{"type":567,"attrs":606,"content":607},{"textAlign":49},[608],{"text":609,"type":572},"The Indian government is seeking to evolve the country’s transport and energy system to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly using both electric vehicles (EVs) and biodiesel.",{"type":567,"attrs":611,"content":612},{"textAlign":49},[613],{"text":614,"type":572},"The goal is to crack down on the pollution which many at the top believe is hampering India’s economic prosperity.",{"type":567,"attrs":616,"content":617},{"textAlign":49},[618],{"text":619,"type":572},"In H2 2019, the Indian government released its strongest emissions reduction plan to date which saw it leapfrog restrictions from BSIV to BSVI (Bharat stage emission standards).",{"type":567,"attrs":621,"content":622},{"textAlign":49},[623,625],{"text":624,"type":572},"Bharat stage emission standards (BSES for short) are India’s emission standards based on European regulations, which were first introduced in 2000. Each stage has",{"text":626,"type":572},"increasingly stringent pollution requirements, with the fifth stage skipped in order to more aggressively address the country’s pollution problem.",{"type":567,"attrs":628,"content":629},{"textAlign":49},[630],{"text":631,"type":572},"“We jumped from BSIV to BSVI because of pollution and we have successfully implemented that. We are not against any car industry [internal combustion engine] but electric is the future. The problem is the cost of electric vehicles … and the cost of lithium ion batteries right now. Yet it’s not for government to choose who is good, its survival of the fittest,” said Transport Minister Gadkari.",{"type":567,"attrs":633,"content":634},{"textAlign":49},[635],{"text":636,"type":572},"The rhetoric fits nicely with India’s bold target of only selling electric vehicles by 2030, which was announced by Gadkari in 2017.",{"type":567,"attrs":638,"content":639},{"textAlign":49},[640],{"text":641,"type":572},"National level policy has emerged in an attempt to address the pressures on the government to tackle pollution, and with reports from groups such as the World Bank on negative impact of climate change on the economic and living standards of the country.",{"type":567,"attrs":643,"content":644},{"textAlign":49},[645,647],{"text":646,"type":572},"At a central government level strategic initiatives such as the FAME India (Faster Adoption of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles) scheme, are in place to incentivise sales of",{"text":648,"type":572},"electric vehicles. It is split into two phases – FAME I and FAME II – the first phase saw the government pay out USD 134 million in subsidies from April 2015 to March 2019.",{"type":567,"attrs":650,"content":651},{"textAlign":49},[652],{"text":653,"type":572},"The four areas in which FAME I focused were, 1) demand creation, 2) technology platforms, 3) pilot projects and 4) charging infrastructure. The demand incentives were aimed at all vehicle segments, from two-wheelers to light commercial vehicles and buses.",{"type":567,"attrs":655,"content":656},{"textAlign":49},[657,659],{"text":658,"type":572},"FAME II, which began in April 2019 and will last three years, sees total incentive payments increased to USD 1.5 billion. The subsidies are targeting all advanced battery electric vehicles – while avoiding the lead acid 2-wheel market – but there is a particular focus on public transport. The subsidy will provide subsidies of up to 20,000 rupees (approximately USD 280) per kWh for electric buses which is capped at 40% of production costs. For all other electric vehicles, which includes PHEV and strong hybrid vehicles,",{"text":660,"type":572},"subsidies are capped at 10,000 rupees (approximately 140 USD) per kWh and 20% of production costs.",{"type":567,"attrs":662,"content":663},{"textAlign":49},[664],{"text":665,"type":572},"The government is also offering income tax rebates up to 1.5 Lakh (USD $2,150) available to purchasers of electric vehicles on interest paid loans.",{"type":567,"attrs":667,"content":668},{"textAlign":49},[669],{"text":670,"type":572},"While these subsidies come into effect there have also been changes in the tax structure for electric vehicles, as 2019 saw a goods and service tax reduction from 12% to 5% for EVs and from 18% to 5% for EV chargers.",{"type":567,"attrs":672,"content":673},{"textAlign":49},[674],{"text":675,"type":572},"“It helps but it’s the cherry on top of a cake that hasn’t been made yet,” Simon Moores, Managing Director said in an interview on India’s electric vehicle support with WION, India’s international facing news service.",{"type":567,"attrs":677,"content":678},{"textAlign":49},[679],{"text":680,"type":572},"There are many of India’s automotive industry that believe the government could do more.",{"type":567,"attrs":682,"content":683},{"textAlign":49},[684,686],{"text":685,"type":572},"“The government needs to give this new industry a push but doesn’t need to decide",{"text":687,"type":572},"the specification of each vehicle,” said Munjal. He also called for a broader consensus across all government departments on the direction of EVs. “Between various ministries there is confusion over the long term-path and as a result there is a lot of fence sitting,” he added.",{"type":567,"attrs":689,"content":690},{"textAlign":49},[691,693,694],{"text":692,"type":572},"This is something ",{"text":574,"type":572},{"text":695,"type":572},"had seen within the US government until recent improvements this year with Department of Commerce, Department of State, and the Energy & Natural Resources Committee released legislation and plans all in a shared, strategic direction.",{"type":567,"attrs":697,"content":698},{"textAlign":49},[699,701,703],{"text":700,"type":572},"This was aided by the ",{"text":702,"type":572},"Benchmark Minerals Summit 2019 ",{"text":704,"type":572},"in Washington DC that saw Senator Lisa Murkowski announce the revamped American Mineral Security Act which refines the focus to EV supply chain raw materials of lithium, graphite, cobalt and nickel.",{"type":567,"attrs":706,"content":707},{"textAlign":49},[708,710],{"text":709,"type":572},"Kamal Bali, President and Managing Director of Volvo India, also flagged up previous inconsistency from government has",{"text":711,"type":572},"been a major hindrance to further investment in the country.",{"type":567,"attrs":713,"content":714},{"textAlign":49},[715],{"text":716,"type":572},"“When you look externally at India… you see a wavering in policy. My colleagues are worried that the policy will change [quickly] and this takes away the credibility of [any investment] business case”.",{"type":599,"attrs":718,"content":719},{"level":601,"textAlign":49},[720],{"text":721,"type":572},"More EVs, smaller batteries",{"type":567,"attrs":723,"content":724},{"textAlign":49},[725],{"text":726,"type":572},"In India, electrifying all modes of transport will become the challenge of this century, and it begins its journey with its 2-wheel and 3-wheel vehicles.",{"type":567,"attrs":728,"content":729},{"textAlign":49},[730],{"text":731,"type":572},"India had an estimated 120m to 130m 2-wheel and 3-wheel vehicles on its roads in 2019 of which some 30m are renewed each year.",{"type":567,"attrs":733,"content":734},{"textAlign":49},[735,737,739],{"text":736,"type":572},"“We are making India’s first electric superbike that runs on indigenous technology developed in-house,” said Ankit Khatry, co-founder and COO at Emflux Motors speaking to ",{"text":738,"type":572},"Benchmark Minerals",{"text":740,"type":572},". “Now we are in the pre-production phase and testing the robustness of the vehicle,” he added.",{"type":567,"attrs":742,"content":743},{"textAlign":49},[744],{"text":745,"type":572},"The company’s Emflux One electric bike is scheduled for launch in 2021and will have",{"type":567,"attrs":747,"content":748},{"textAlign":49},[749,751,753],{"text":750,"type":572},"a capacity of 9.7 kWh, in which it will use LG Chem and Samsung lithium ion cells, which Khatry confirmed when speaking to ",{"text":752,"type":572},"Benchmark",{"text":754,"type":572},".",{"type":567,"attrs":756,"content":757},{"textAlign":49},[758],{"text":759,"type":572},"However, battery packs of this size are in the luxury range and the typical size of two-wheel battery packs are lower. For instance, Okinawa Scooters’ battery packs range from 1.25 kWh to 3.3 kWh in size, which is more representative of the requirements of India’s scooters.",{"type":567,"attrs":761,"content":762},{"textAlign":49},[763],{"text":764,"type":572},"India’s 3-wheel rickshaws come in two categories: low speed of which 1.5m are sold each year and high speed of which 5m are sold annually.",{"type":567,"attrs":766,"content":767},{"textAlign":49},[768],{"text":769,"type":572},"For the low speed vehicles, a battery pack of 4kWh is needed to go the target 100km on a single charge. For the high speed category, the battery pack can range from 10-15kWh for the same range.",{"type":567,"attrs":771,"content":772},{"textAlign":49},[773,775],{"text":774,"type":572},"India’s electric vehicle startup scene is dominated by companies which are almost exclusively focused on 2-wheel and 3-wheel vehicles production to cater for India’s domestic market. However, right now the battery cells used in India’s electric vehicles",{"text":776,"type":572},"are sourced from outside the country.",{"type":567,"attrs":778,"content":779},{"textAlign":49},[780],{"text":781,"type":572},"In fact, there is no domestic production and this is a part of the value chain that India is missing out on as Raja Gayam, CEO of Gayam Motor Works, which manufactures electric three-wheelers explained, “battery cells add 25% value to an electric vehicle. It would be important to develop capabilities to reduce dependency for cells.”",{"type":567,"attrs":783,"content":784},{"textAlign":49},[785],{"text":786,"type":572},"Jeetender Sharma, Founder and Managing Director of electric scooter startup Okinawa Autotech Pvt is optimistic: “with support from the government players will soon start manufacturing batteries in India. It is true that currently OEMs have to import the battery cells which is adding to the overall cost of the product. Once manufacturing begins in India, there will be a significant reduction in price, and affordability will increase.”",{"type":567,"attrs":788,"content":789},{"textAlign":49},[790,792],{"text":791,"type":572},"Discussing Gayam Motor Works’ plans, Gayam said “we have order book of 5000 units from e-commerce/last mile delivery companies like Amazon, Flipkart, Bigbasket, Grofers, Ninjakart, Delhivery for the next year. We are currently having operations in Hyderabad and Bengaluru. We will be",{"text":793,"type":572},"expanding to Chennai, Pune and Mumbai in the next year.”",{"type":567,"attrs":795,"content":796},{"textAlign":49},[797],{"text":798,"type":572},"As larger companies become stakeholders in India’s electric vehicle market and the market grows, the lack of a secure lithium ion battery supply chain will only be magnified.",{"type":599,"attrs":800,"content":801},{"level":601,"textAlign":49},[802],{"text":803,"type":572},"Supply chain plans",{"type":567,"attrs":805,"content":806},{"textAlign":49},[807],{"text":808,"type":572},"The lack of battery cell and raw material production is certainly a concern for a country looking to electrify its fleet in such a short time.",{"type":567,"attrs":810,"content":811},{"textAlign":49},[812],{"text":813,"type":572},"Despite the promising green shoots from start up EV companies, Lithion Power CEO, Piyush Gupta, believes the country needs to do much more.",{"type":567,"attrs":815,"content":816},{"textAlign":49},[817],{"text":818,"type":572},"“We are too dependent on external technology in India,” Gupta said, “we are completely dominated by imports and the whole culture of innovation does not exist”. Gupta pointed to the fact that despite having world-class educational hubs, India has struggled move away from the intellectual pursuit and towards commercial progress.",{"type":567,"attrs":820,"content":821},{"textAlign":49},[822],{"text":823,"type":572},"As a result, the commercial scale activity and imports have come from China, with India reportedly importing 90% of its e-scooters from China. Hero’s CEO put it simply: “we haven’t got lithium and we haven’t got batteries.” This is a genuine and growing concern for India’s leading scooter manufacturer that has evolved from using lead acid batteries in its vehicles to now being “100% on lithium ion”.",{"type":567,"attrs":825,"content":826},{"textAlign":49},[827],{"text":828,"type":572},"However, there are some positive signs elsewhere for the supply chain.",{"type":567,"attrs":830,"content":831},{"textAlign":49},[832],{"text":833,"type":572},"Rajat Verma, Founder and CEO of battery pack and battery recycling startup Lohum Cleantech said, “India, at the moment does not produce its own cells. That does create supply chain issues on the first life battery packs. However, at least 10 companies in India have announced their intention to create cell manufacturing capacity. We are working with some of these companies to provide them with raw material that we produce using recycling. We expect the first major cell production facility to be commissioned in India by 2022. The government of India is also expected to come out with incentives for cell manufacturing by February of 2020.”",{"type":567,"attrs":835,"content":836},{"textAlign":49},[837,839],{"text":838,"type":572},"As Verma explains, cell production and raw material demand supply is firmly on the government’s radar. But the government is increasingly aware of the hurdles it has to",{"text":840,"type":572},"face. For instance, the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) – an Indian government think tank published its report ‘Zero Emission Vehicles: Towards a policy Framework’ in 2018. In this report NITI Aayog stated that India needs “10GWh of battery cells by 2022, which would need to be expanded to about 50 GWh by 2025.” The think tank acknowledged India’s lack of lithium ion cell production expertise and suggested that for domestic production to be successful it would need international OEMs to work independently or through joint ventures.",{"type":567,"attrs":842,"content":843},{"textAlign":49},[844],{"text":845,"type":572},"The report also acknowledged the raw material requirements needed for electrification. NITI Aayog propose looking for resources within and outside of India, and have suggested applying incentives to promote strategic investments in international mines. To further support the raw material demands, developing a reliable lithium ion recycling industry is another critical goal proposed by NITI Aayog.",{"type":567,"attrs":847,"content":848},{"textAlign":49},[849,850],{"text":574,"type":572},{"text":851,"type":572},"understands the group has been actively working with a select group of industry participants to craft a subsidy program in order to promote lithium ion cell production. The subsidy program is yet to be finalised but we understand that a subsidy has been considered which would reward the use of more Indian produced intermediate chemicals in cell production. The goal here is to promote the growth of the full domestic supply chain. However, considering that this supply chain effectively does not exist in India at the moment, we are sceptical of its effectiveness without the support of larger investments in the supply chain.",{"type":599,"attrs":853,"content":854},{"level":601,"textAlign":49},[855],{"text":856,"type":572},"Where are the megafactories?",{"type":567,"attrs":858,"content":859},{"textAlign":49},[860,862,864],{"text":861,"type":572},"But with all these plans, currently India is not represented in the ",{"text":863,"type":572},"Benchmark Minerals’ Lithium Ion Megafactory Assessment",{"text":754,"type":572},{"type":567,"attrs":866,"content":867},{"textAlign":49},[868,870],{"text":869,"type":572},"This reflects the infant stage in which India’s lithium ion supply chain currently sits. But it is not to say that there haven’t been",{"text":871,"type":572},"developments, in fact, we have seen growing momentum in the past few years.",{"type":567,"attrs":873,"content":874},{"textAlign":49},[875],{"text":876,"type":572},"For instance, in April 2017 Suzuki, Toshiba and Denso established a basic agreement to establish lithium ion battery production facility in India. The joint venture would reportedly see a production facility being established in Gujarat and would be led by Suzuki, with 50% of the share, with Toshiba and Denso controlling 40% and 10% respectively.",{"type":567,"attrs":878,"content":879},{"textAlign":49},[880],{"text":881,"type":572},"Elsewhere, Tata Chemicals, part of the larger Tata Group, announced in July 2019 that it would be investing rupees 4,000 crore to build a 10 GWh lithium ion battery factory in the Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR), Gujarat. The company is reported to have acquired a 126 acre of land to base its operations.",{"type":567,"attrs":883,"content":884},{"textAlign":49},[885,887],{"text":886,"type":572},"In March 2019, it was also reported that Tata Chemicals had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to transfer its lithium ion cell production technology to Tata",{"text":888,"type":572},"so that it can begin cell production in India.",{"type":567,"attrs":890,"content":891},{"textAlign":49},[892],{"text":893,"type":572},"State-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited and Licoin – a consortium which includes Magnis Energy (which has plans for cell plants in the US and Australia) – are also looking to bring cell production capacity to India.",{"type":567,"attrs":895,"content":896},{"textAlign":49},[897,899,901,903],{"text":898,"type":572},"One of the most exciting recent developments was the announcement by electric scooter manufacturer Ather Energy in December 2019 of its plans to establish a lithium ion battery production facility in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, having signed a memorandum of understanding with Tamil Nadu state. The facility plans to combine electric vehicle and lithium ion production, however, there are few details of cell production available, but for the operation to be successfully ",{"text":900,"type":572},"Benchmark ",{"text":902,"type":572},"expects the operation to require the support of an",{"text":904,"type":572},"established lithium ion cell manufacturer as with other OEM and battery joint operations.",{"type":599,"attrs":906,"content":907},{"level":601,"textAlign":49},[908],{"text":909,"type":572},"Capital allocation is important",{"type":567,"attrs":911,"content":912},{"textAlign":49},[913,915,916],{"text":914,"type":572},"Through 2019, whether speaking at industry events, governmental committees or in our analysis, ",{"text":900,"type":572},{"text":917,"type":572},"has warned that the lack of investment and capital allocation is limiting the extent to which lithium ion battery supply chains can develop globally. India is no exception, as there has been insufficient investment to support the growth of these value chains.",{"type":567,"attrs":919,"content":920},{"textAlign":49},[921,923],{"text":922,"type":572},"There is no shortage of capital available to large Indian conglomerates – such as Reliance, Adni or Birli – Tata Group for instance has made tentative moves into the supply chain. However, as with many other major companies globally, India’s largest companies are taking a ‘wait and see’",{"text":924,"type":572},"approach.",{"type":567,"attrs":926,"content":927},{"textAlign":49},[928],{"text":929,"type":572},"On the flipside, the issue here is that many of the international players – Panasonic, LG Chem, international automotives, for example – are waiting for a domestic player to step up and move into the supply chain.",{"type":567,"attrs":931,"content":932},{"textAlign":49},[933],{"text":934,"type":572},"Where India is lacking in supply chain and infrastructure, it makes it up in enthusiasm. In the private sphere, there are a host of entrepreneurs across the country looking to bring electric vehicles, cell production and battery recycling to the country. Public support has increased with favourable tax changes and subsidy programmes through which the government is trying to get industry buy-in. But enthusiasm will only take this industry so far, for the success of the lithium ion supply chain in India will need a cohesive end-to-end supply chain strategy driven from the top.","Most mornings in New Delhi, a haze gathers across the cityscape, as pollution from the city’s endless vehicles and factories. This pollution is something that the government is now calling an ‘economic’ threat to India as much as an environmental health one. Benchmark Minerals can vouch for this; on a recent visit to Delhi our […]",[937],{"slug":555,"name":556,"content":938},{"job_title":558,"image":939,"bio":561,"linkedin":562},{"filename":560},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"fc168060-63c3-413f-bc41-eb97871d8bd6\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[943,946],{"slug":944,"name":945},"batteries","Batteries",{"slug":947,"name":948},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals","private",{"id":49,"alt":951,"name":951,"focus":951,"title":951,"source":951,"filename":952,"copyright":951,"fieldtype":953,"meta_data":954,"is_external_url":51},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/81adfe4d53/bm-electric-india-8027611ca0e.jpg","asset",{"alt":951,"title":951,"source":951,"copyright":951},"Jan 27, 2020","27th January 2020",[],[],1780500993456]