Over 70 GWh of battery waste to reach recycling firms by 2030: CII report

India could have a significant battery waste problem on its hands, according to a new report from Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

A report on ‘Battery Manufacturing & its Ecosystem’ released by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), has said that an estimated 72 to 81 GWh of waste batteries (around 447,000 to 517,000 tons) would reach recycling firms from 2022 to 2030. While consumer electronics are expected to be the dominant source of these waste batteries, electric vehicles (EVs) would be the dominant source with effect from 2030.

Elaborating on the challenges and the action plan of industry to deal with this, Vipin Sondhi, Chairperson – CII National Committee on Future Mobility (2022-23) and former CEO and MD, Ashok Leyland and JCB said, “Challenges include building domestic supply chain capabilities to make EVs more affordable, establishing charging networks to mitigate range anxiety in consumers and creating talent pool that can participate in the enormous task of developing innovative technologies and manufacturing infrastructure that are relevant to our unique needs."

Sondhi added, "In this regard, stakeholders in the entire battery value chain are working to come up with innovations to offer longer driving range, faster charging and improving safety of the vehicle and at the same time reducing the acquisition cost of an EV”.

Highlighting the outcome on the report, S Vijayanand, Chairman, CII Core group on Battery Manufacturing (2022-23) and President – New Energy, Amara Raja Group, said, “The report delves deep into the technological trends in advanced chemistry cell manufacturing and emphasises the need to focus on creating a circular economy framework for long-term sustainability. Additionally, it highlights the crucial skill gaps in the battery ecosystem and the importance of addressing these gaps while executing giga factories in India”.

Some of the report's key recommendations are:

- The government may consider providing incentives for R&D programmes focused on advanced battery technology research in the central research agencies and academic institutions across the country. Incentives can be allocated from a dedicated fund which has been especially earmarked for the development of battery technology ecosystem

- The cost-differential between the advanced battery technology vehicles and conventional vehicles should be bridged by government incentivisation. These may help in reducing the cost of ownership of high-performance advanced vehicles and will give the necessary push needed by the segment. State government should to include this in their industrial policies and be accorded status of thrust/focus sector

- Development of national level battery collection schemes on a PPP model to ensure batteries are channelised from all jurisdictions to certified refurbishing and recycling facilities

- Black mass and used batteries if assigned HSN codes, will enable tracking of movement of spent batteries and black mass. This will ensure that black mass is not exported out of the country and the country doesn’t end up becoming a dumping ground for toxic and harmful battery material

- Consumer awareness programme related to disposal of waste batteries need to be carried out to sensitize and educate people. Interventions at local municipal levels would ensure that the public authorities instill safe battery disposal habits amongst consumers

- Close coordination between academia and industry is of paramount importance to identify the requirements of skills in the ecosystem which may be catered by the academia. Industry specific courses / programmes. Digital education / diploma courses be made available for the existing professional interested in switching to battery industry through specially designed courses

Lead Image: courtesy globaltechenvironmental.com