Few months ago, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) made a significant discovery of 5.9 million tonnes of lithium reserves in Jammu and Kashmir. This discovery was hailed by stakeholders in the automotive sector and ministers as a game changer for India’s journey towards net-zero carbon emissions and electric mobility. However, it’s important to note that finding and prospecting a lithium reserve is different from mining the lithium ore and refining it for use in battery packs for electric vehicles.
To gain a realistic perspective on this matter, TOI Auto reached out to Nitin Gupta, CEO and Co-founder of Attero Recycling, a deep tech company that specializes in recycling battery grade materials. Attero has processed samples directly from the Jammu and Kashmir reserves and discovered that they were able to extract 200 parts per million (PPM) of refined battery-grade lithium carbonate. While this confirms the viability of the lithium reserve, it’s still a mid-term goal to achieve any significant output from the reserve.
Furthermore, traditional lithium mining is not conducive to India’s goal of reducing carbon emissions and promoting sustainability. The process requires a large amount of water, with approximately 500,000 gallons of water needed to extract one tonne of lithium from a mine. Additionally, more than 90% of lithium mining currently occurs in China.
In light of these challenges, recycling presents a solution for not only India but also globally. Recycling can address concerns of supply security and bridge the gap until electric vehicle adoption reaches a stable stage. Once stability is achieved, there would be no need for further lithium mining as mined materials can be recycled and used to make new batteries. However, high-efficiency recycling technology is crucial to make this a reality.
Globally, significant investments have been made in lithium and battery recycling, with extraction efficiency currently at 75% or less. Attero claims to be the only battery recycling company in the world that can extract up to 98% battery grade materials from end-of-life batteries, thanks to their patented lithium processing technology. While the exact details of the process are not disclosed, Attero uses improved reagents and slight variations in process factors to achieve high extraction efficiency.
In the context of a sustainable circular economy, battery recycling is crucial to address environmental, social, and supply security issues associated with the global supply chain of electric vehicles. Gupta emphasizes that scaling up recycling is essential for India to protect itself from these challenges. By the end of 2023, Attero aims to scale up battery recycling capacity to 20,000 tonnes per annum, with 30% of the capacity located in India.
Overall, the recently discovered lithium reserves in India have the potential to reduce EV costs, but a long-term solution requires promoting the battery recycling industry. Recycling not only helps bridge the demand and supply gap for critical battery materials like lithium but also protects EV prices from increasing due to fluctuations in metal prices. Attero is actively working towards expanding its recycling capacity globally, including in India, to contribute to a more sustainable future.