The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has made a groundbreaking discovery of lithium resources in J&K. Explore the implications of this find and its potential impact on India’s energy future.
Impact on the Global Lithium Market
The global demand for lithium is soaring, primarily driven by the rapid growth of the electric vehicle industry and the increasing adoption of renewable energy sources. The availability of substantial lithium resources in Jammu and Kashmir can help alleviate the global supply constraints and reduce dependence on a few lithium-rich countries. This discovery has the potential to stabilize lithium prices, promote competition, and ensure a sustainable supply chain for lithium-based products.
About Lithium
· Lithium (Li), sometimes also referred as ‘White gold’ due to its high demand for rechargeable
batteries, is a soft and silvery-white metal.
Major Global Lithium Reserves:
· Chile > Australia > Argentina are top countries with Li reserves.
· Lithium Triangle: Chile, Argentina, Bolivia.
Use of Lithium
· Lithium is an important component of electrochemical cells used in batteries of EVs, Laptops,
Mobiles etc.
· It is also used in thermonuclear reactions.
· Magnesium-Lithium alloy – for armour plating.
Lithium Reserves in India:
· Preliminary survey showed
estimated lithium reserves of
14,100 tonnes in a small patch of
land surveyed in Southern
Karnataka’s Mandya district.
Other potential sites:
· Mica belts in Rajasthan, Bihar,
Andhra Pradesh.
· Pegmatite belts in Odisha and
Chhattisgarh.
· Rann of Kutch in Gujrat.
· The Central Electricity Authority of India has estimated that the country will need 27 GW of
grid-scale battery energy storage systems by 2030, which will require massive amounts of
lithium.
Significance of the discovery
· The World Economic Forum (WEF) has warned of global lithium shortages due to rising demand
for EVs and rechargeable batteries, which is estimated to reach 2 billion by 2050.
· The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that the world could face lithium shortages by 2025.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.