Amitabh Kant calls for quick action on battery manufacturing for EV push to be successful

Speaking at the Green Bharat Summit, Kant emphasized the need for India to catch up with global leaders in battery production.

G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant has called for urgent steps to ramp up battery manufacturing, expressing dismay over lack of progress in the implementation of the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme announced in 2021.

Speaking at the Green Bharat Summit on December 13, Kant stressed on the need for India to step catch battery production.

The battery is the most expensive EV component, which pushes up vehicle cost. Most Indian vehicle makers have turned to imports, though some are moving towards manufacturing batteries to cut costs.

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“Where is the PLI for batteries? We announced 50 GW in 2021, yet not a single GW has come up. It was a transparent process; if the electronics sector could achieve it, why couldn’t the auto sector?” Kant said, adding the world was already producing 1,200 GWh of battery storage capacity, while India was far behind.

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Kant stressed on the need for India to scale up production, targeting 300 GWh of battery manufacturing over the next two and a half to four years. "This is critical if India wants to be a global leader in the EV revolution," he said.

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The former Niti Aayog CEO called for the installation of one million fast chargers across the country, driving home the need for creating infrastructure to support EVs.

“Everything should be available on an app. You should be able to assess every single battery, every single vehicle, and monitor its performance,” he said.

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While acknowledging the recent entry of companies like Ola Electric into the battery manufacturing space, Kant said mere announcements were are not enough. "We need to get into manufacturing and get this going," he said.