On the sidelines of the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi (18–19 February), India signed the Pax Silica declaration – a US-led initiative to counter China’s dominance in new age sectors such as critical minerals, artificial intelligence, and technology supply chains. All of these are areas of concern for India.
In the context of critical minerals, the growing demand for lithium-ion batteries offers a case in point. Lithium-ion batteries account for nearly 100 per cent of all batteries used in Electric Vehicles (EVs) and smartphones. These batteries depend on critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, graphite, and nickel, which are geographically concentrated in few countries, with India having limited domestic reserves of lithium.
Batteries have become part and parcel of modern life, powering everyday devices such as phones, consumer appliances, laptops, EVs, and large energy storage systems. The vast majority of battery storage used for daily-use electronic equipment and for energy generated from renewables, such as solar and wind, uses lithium-ion batteries.
Lithium vs sodium
In comparison to other conventional batteries like nickel-cadmium and lead-acid, lithium-ion batteries have a longer lifespan and high energy density. Therefore, demand for lithium has increased dramatically worldwide, making it a crucial resource with significant strategic implications. But these batteries also face issues related to cost, safety risks, aging, temperature sensitivity, and dependency on critical minerals.
These limitations have drawn attention to alternative technologies like Sodium-ion battery technology, which is seen as offering significant promise for India in the medium to long term. If leveraged effectively, Sodium-ion battery technology has the potential to reduce the dominance of lithium-rich nations and democratise battery markets by harnessing abundant sodium resources and lowering dependence on concentrated supply chains.
The growing viability of Sodium-ion batteries is also becoming visible. Recently, Chinese state-owned automaker Changan Automobiles, in partnership with CATL, a Chinese battery manufacturer, introduced the world’s first mass-produced passenger vehicle equipped with sodium-ion (Na-ion) batteries with a retail price point that is nearly 20 per cent lower than lithium-ion EVs.
Advantages of sodium-ion batteries
Lithium-ion batteries have a “rocking chair” mechanism-based system, wherein lithium ions (Li+) move from the cathode to the anode through an electrolyte during charging, and rock back to the cathode during discharge. Na-ion batteries also operate on the same principle. While the higher atomic mass of Sodium means that Na-ion batteries will be heavier than their Li-ion counterparts, reductions in the weight of other cell components and other advantages offered by Na-ion batteries place them as an alternative to Li-ion batteries, specifically for nations such as India.
Na-ion batteries offer considerable advantages. First, there is a significant geopolitical advantage for India in the shift to Na-ion batteries. Nearly 60 per cent of the world’s Lithium is concentrated in the ‘Lithium-triangle’ of Chile, Argentina and Bolivia. It creates a new resource dominance akin to the OPEC dominance in petroleum products. At the same time, China controls more than 80 per cent of global battery cell output.
With the lithium triangle holding most of the world’s lithium and China dominating its processing, countries like India may get caught in a ‘middleman trap’ in the battery technology market. Sodium is the sixth most abundant element in the world, and can be extracted from sea salt and soda ash relatively easily. Thus, strategic investment in sodium-ion technology has the potential to enable India and other nations to reduce this dominance and import dependency by utilising local resources.
Cost, safety risks
Second, sodium’s abundance and relative ease of extraction mean that production at scale can lead to more than a 30 per cent reduction in battery production costs. Lithium-ion batteries require the use of copper in anodes, while Na-ion batteries enable the use of cheaper aluminium foil, reducing costs further.
Use of Aluminium, which costs less than half that of copper and weighs less, presents a key advantage. Third, Na-ion batteries offer important safety advantages. Unlike Lithium-ion batteries, they can be fully discharged to zero volts (0 V) during transportation, reducing both logistical costs and fire hazards. Lithium-ion batteries, by contrast, must typically be maintained at a minimum 30 per cent charge to prevent damage, thereby increasing safety risks during transportation.
Fourth, resilience in lower temperatures further strengthens the case for Na-ion. While Lithium-ion batteries tend to lose significant capacity in cold conditions, Na-ion batteries retain performance even at low temperatures, making them particularly suitable for India’s high altitude and snow-bound regions.
Fifth, while there will be a need for investments up front to enable the shift to Na-ion batteries, it is worth noting that they can be made compatible with Lithium-ion battery manufacturing infrastructure with relatively minor adjustments to the production lines. This will reduce the capital expenditure required to adopt these technologies. This will also help reduce the large investments required to adopt these technologies.
Key hurdles
Despite these advantages, the shift to Na-ion batteries faces several key hurdles. Sodium, being heavier and larger than Lithium, makes Na-ion batteries bulkier and heavier, making them less suitable for long-range and high-performance vehicles where every gram of weight matters.
Sodium batteries use ‘hard-carbon’, a carbon material that does not turn into graphite even under extremely high temperatures, in its anode. This technology is still in the early stages of commercial scaling, adding to costs.
Moreover, the present-day global battery infrastructure is built for Lithium-ion battery systems. While Na-ion batteries do not require entirely new manufacturing lines, making the required changes to Lithium-ion battery manufacturing lines to suit Na-ion will still require significant capital investments.
India’s efforts towards battery manufacturing
The Government of India has identified battery technology as a key area to push for self-sufficiency and has adopted a multipronged approach to achieve this. Central to India’s ambitions in battery technology is the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC). With an outlay of ₹18,100 Crore, it seeks to promote domestic manufacturing of alternative chemistries such as Lithium-ion and Na-ion in India. The first Lithium-ion cell manufacturing facility in India by Ola Electric in Tamil Nadu, with a Giga-scale line (1.4 GWh), is a major beneficiary of this scheme.
In 2019, India established KABIL (Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL), a joint venture of three Indian Public Sector Enterprises, NALCO (National Aluminium Corporation), HCL (Hindustan Copper Limited), and Mineral Exploration and Consultancy Limited (MECL) under the Ministry of Mines. It aimed at securing a reliable supply chain of strategic minerals such as lithium and cobalt for India’s domestic industries via Government-to-Government (G2G) collaborations, joint ventures, and direct investments to secure raw materials. KABIL was integrated into the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) in 2025.
Furthermore, India has been securing its battery future through strategic global acquisitions. The acquisition of Faradion by a private sector corporation is expected to enable the manufacture of critical battery components from agricultural waste. This technological push is backed by the government’s Viability Gap Funding (VGF) for grid storage. Together, these initiatives foster a circular energy economy that reduces India’s dependence on global lithium supply chains and strengthens its strategic autonomy.
Moving beyond resource dependence
To sum up, it can be argued that a well-planned strategy will be essential for India to become a global hub for Sodium-ion technology and successfully achieve Atmanirbhar status. Incentivising research into hard carbon to develop battery components from agricultural waste can make the transition easier by reducing import dependency and facilitating cost savings. In addition, setting up these units in the agrarian regions of Punjab and Haryana can help solve the stubble-burning crisis and localise the Na-ion supply chain.
Setting up robust regulatory and safety standards for battery technologies, like the IATA (International Air Transport Association) would further help. India’s BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) may establish domestic safety and performance benchmarks to ensure consumer confidence and simplify the vehicle certification process for Sodium-powered EVs. Subsidies on EVs with Na-ion batteries, at least in the initial phase, may spur consumer demand.
Prioritising two-wheeler and three-wheeler EV segments for entry of sodium batteries can also be a step in the right direction, as consumers in these markets, particularly in India, prefer low cost over longer range. To conclude, sodium-ion batteries represent more than just a technological shift for India. It offers India a chance to move beyond resource dependence. It would be crucial for India’s Net Zero 2070 ambitions, alongside technological leadership.
Post read questions
Lithium-ion batteries have emerged as a cornerstone of the global energy transition. Discuss the technological advantages and strategic vulnerabilities associated with their widespread adoption.
Critical minerals are increasingly shaping global technological competition. Discuss with reference to India becoming part of the Pax Silica declaration.
Evaluate the potential of sodium-ion battery technology as an alternative to lithium-ion batteries in achieving energy security and technological self-reliance in India.
Policy measures such as customs duty exemptions and manufacturing incentives are increasingly used to build technological capabilities. Discuss with reference to India’s battery manufacturing ecosystem.
(Kannan K is a Doctoral candidate at the Centre for Economic and Social Studies, Hyderabad.)
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Curated by James Chen
