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ENVIRONMENT NEWS
India’s lithium-ion battery demand to hit 115 GWh by 2030,
but recycling gap threatens circular economy push
ndia’s demand for lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) Recycling: A $3.5 billion opportunity still un-
is expected to surge to 115 gigawatt-hours tapped
I(GWh) by 2030, driven by the explosive
growth in electric vehicles (EVs), stationary stor- Currently, India recycles only 1% of its end-of-life
age systems, and consumer electronics. But de- LiBs, signalling a significant environmental gap
spite an ambitious manufacturing push, a gap- and lost economic opportunity. The report calls
ing hole in the recycling ecosystem threatens to for immediate policy action and investment to
derail India’s clean-tech and circular economy build a domestic circular battery economy worth
ambitions, a new Accenture-ICEA report warns. $3.5 billion by 2030.
The report, “Charging Ahead – Transforming In- “Sustainability is one of the most promising eco-
dia’s Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Ecosystem”, nomic opportunities of our time… India can un-
commissioned by the India Cellular & Electron- lock a $3.5 billion circular battery economy, re-
ics Association (ICEA) and conducted by Accen- duce import dependencies, and establish itself
ture, outlines both the opportunity and the ur- as a global powerhouse in clean technologies,”
gency of building a sustainable LiB supply chain. Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman of ICEA, said at the
report launch in New Delhi.
EV Boom to Power LiB demand
ICEA represents domestic and multinational
Between 2025 and 2030, India’s LiB demand electronics makers and smartphone brands and
is expected to grow at a compound annual counts Foxconn, Dixon, Apple, Xiaomi, Oppo,
growth rate (CAGR) of 48% in the EV segment, Vivo, and Bhagwati among its members.
followed by 14% for stationary storage and 3%
for consumer electronics. To meet this rising de- Sunita Verma of MeitY added that the ministry is
mand, domestic cell manufacturing is expected committed to “formalising the recycling sector”
to touch 220 GWh by 2030, supported by the and developing indigenous technologies. She
government’s production-linked incentive (PLI) highlighted that the Centre of Excellence at C-
scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) bat- MET Hyderabad is already working with over 25
tery storage. industries on LiB recycling solutions.
Manufacturers such as Ola Electric, Reliance New Despite the urgent need, the study found that
Energy Solar, and Rajesh Exports have already recycled supply from existing operations is just
secured PLI support for 40 GWh capacity. How- 1–3 kilotons (kT), compared to a projected re-
ever, this scale-up hinges on consistent access quirement of 3–15 kT by 2030. The Bureau of
to critical materials like lithium, cobalt, nickel, and Waste Management Rules (BWMR) estimates
manganese, most of which are imported. recycling demand could reach 200–250 kT by
the end of the decade.
July 2025 PLASTICS NEWS 43
