# India's Lithium Nickel Refining Push Faces Raw Material Crunch

> India's Rs 2,814-crore lithium and nickel refining scheme faces raw material shortages and cost competition with China.
- Title: India's Lithium Nickel Refining Push Faces Raw Material Crunch
- Summary: India's Rs 2,814-crore lithium and nickel refining scheme faces raw material shortages and cost competition with China.
- Keywords: lithium, nickel, refining, critical minerals, battery, india, chinese competition, raw material security, capital subsidy, processing capacity, mineral imports, Financialexpress
- Source: Financialexpress — https://financialexpress.com/policy/economy-lithium-nickel-refining-push-faces-raw-material-crunch-4378163
- Author: Saurav Anand
- Published: 2026-11-05T17:57:39+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: lithium, nickel, refining, critical minerals, battery, ev, india, chinese competition, raw material security, capital subsidy, processing capacity, mineral imports
## India's Lithium Nickel Refining Scheme
India's Rs 2,814-crore scheme aims to boost domestic battery and EV industries through lithium and nickel refineries.
## Raw Material Security Challenge
India remains entirely import-dependent for lithium, cobalt and nickel despite importing 2.7 million tonnes of critical minerals worth Rs 60,000 crore in FY25.
## Government Subsidy Structure
Union Cabinet approved 30% capital subsidy for four processing facilities with payments capped at Rs 500 crore per lithium beneficiary and Rs 900 crore per nickel beneficiary.
## China's Dominance in Refining
China controls close to 70% of lithium refining and nickel processing, giving manufacturers significant scale advantages.
## Overseas Supply Options
Majumdar identified opportunities to secure lithium from South America and nickel intermediates from Indonesia and Australia.
## China's Cost Benchmarks
China's cost benchmarks for lithium carbonate equivalent are $10,000-12,000 per tonne and nickel sulphate $16,000-18,000 per tonne.
## Domestic Recycling Potential
Domestic recycling could meet 20% of copper and aluminium requirements, 60% of lithium-ion battery material needs and 75% of rare earth requirements.
## Technology and Scale Challenges
India needs to scale technological capabilities to meet domestic and international demand for critical minerals processing.
## Key takeaway

India's government scheme to build domestic lithium and nickel refineries for batteries and EVs struggles with raw material security and cost competitiveness against Chinese producers.