The CEO of Mahindra Electric, Mahesh Babu recently mentioned in a discussion that the Indian electric vehicle industry needs stronger focus on technology.
This of course cannot be denied. What is more important is to figure out what tech to focus on?
Should the Indian industry focus all possible technologies along the entire EV value chain – from power electronics to charging technologies to battery technologies and material recycling? Or should we be more strategic and selective in our approach and decide to invest significantly on those tech domains where India has both an existing advantage and where there are no dominant designs and players worldwide.
One such could be Li-ion battery recycling. India already has a well recognised e-waste recycling sector. Li-ion recycling could be a critical factor that reduces India’s risk to external dependencies for Lithium in future. And finally, there are no dominant players in the Li-ion battery recycling sector as of early 2020.
Such a selective focus could be both rewarding in terms of the returns on investment, as well as set up India for leadership in those domains in future.
Read Mahesh Babu’s interview here.
