bataSutra

India’s EV Supply Chain: Securing Batteries, Chips, and Charging Infrastructure

bataSutra | August 10, 2025

India’s EV transition is no longer about “if” but “how fast.” As domestic EV sales accelerate, the bottlenecks are shifting from consumer demand to supply chain resilience—covering battery raw materials, semiconductor availability, and national charging coverage. The goal is simple: secure the inputs before scale becomes a vulnerability.

Battery Materials: Mining vs. Import Dependency

Lithium, nickel, and cobalt remain the most volatile links in the chain. India’s resource strategy blends domestic exploration with overseas mining stakes—Australia, Argentina, and African nations. Strategic reserves and recycling plants aim to buffer against price shocks.

Gigafactories and Cell Localisation

Three gigafactories are under construction, each with distinct chemistries—LFP for mass-market, NMC for performance, and sodium-ion for cost-sensitive segments. Localizing cell manufacturing is critical to meeting FAME-III localization norms and avoiding customs volatility.

Semiconductor and Power Electronics

IGBTs, MOSFETs, and automotive-grade microcontrollers are in short supply. Partnerships with domestic chip design firms and ATMP facilities are emerging to de-risk imports from East Asia. The government’s semiconductor mission is aligning EV components as a priority use-case.

Charging Infra: Urban Density vs. Highway Corridors

Two charging archetypes are taking shape—dense urban fast-charging clusters and high-power stations on national highways. Discom partnerships for grid upgrades are becoming a prerequisite, as load balancing and renewable integration move to the forefront.

The bata takeaway

EV adoption curves are exponential until the supply chain snaps. Control the inputs, and the growth story sustains. Ignore them, and the bottlenecks become headlines faster than you can say “range anxiety.”