Plans for India’s first lithium refinery are forging ahead after Neometals Ltd. and Manikaran Power Ltd approved a feasibility study for a project that aims to supply a nation set to become the fourth-largest electric-vehicle market by 2040.
The refinery will have a proposed capacity of 20,000 tons a year of lithium hydroxide, Australia’s Neometals said Thursday in a statement.
The study will support staged investment decisions for a potential 50:50 joint venture to develop the project. India’s ambition of becoming a global hub for making EVs faces challenges from a lack of access to raw materials, such as lithium, needed to produce batteries.