India’s commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070, announced during the COP26 Summit, hinges heavily on the transformation of its transportation sector. This is one of the largest contributors to carbon emissions, with fossil fuel-powered vehicles accounting for a significant share of air pollution and energy consumption.
A shift to Electric Vehicles (EVs) is vital to changing the status quo. As the nation looks to achieve carbon neutrality by 2070, EV adoption is poised to play a critical role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, cutting dependence on fossil fuels, and transforming the transportation sector. To realise the full potential of the EV market, India must continue to focus on building charging infrastructure, improving battery technology, and creating an ecosystem that supports sustainable manufacturing.
A thriving EV market will create millions of jobs and bolster India’s position as a leader in the global clean energy transition.
CHANGESPEAKE
CHANGESPEAKE features conversations with people passionately shaping the contours of an inclusively developed India. In this edition, India@100 reached out to Rajat Verma, Founder & CEO of Lohum Cleantech, which is the country’s largest producer and processor of sustainable critical minerals. In this conversation, Rajat talks about India’s preparedness for adopting green technology, lithium-ion batteries becoming the preferred cleantech, and recycling as a way of contributing to the supply chain.
“India is a young and ambitious economy, and if we stay focused, India can achieve its Net Zero goals ahead of time.”
Q. LOHUM is an interesting name, what does it mean?
The name “LOHUM” comes from the Sanskrit word “Loh”, which means “metal” or “iron”. Metals are considered the foundation of technology, circularity, sustainability, and longevity, as they can be melted down, reshaped, reused, and transformed into a highly diverse variety of things.
Metals are also a crucial component of battery energy, which LOHUM aims to make abundant through infinite circularity. Thus, in the LOHUM logo, the “U” contains a battery inside it, because the letter aptly serves to portray the casing of a battery. Together, the name and logo immediately symbolise metals, energy, and batteries with Aatmanirbhar Bharat aspirations.
Q. In the context of India’s focus on lithium import and exploration, how do you see recycling contribute to the supply chain? LOHUM has developed patented technology that can refine battery metal salts, pure metals, and Cathode Active Materials with purity levels of up to 99.8%. How will this impact the availability of critical minerals in India?
LOHUM is India’s largest producer and processor of sustainable critical minerals. LOHUM’s portfolio includes metals, CAM, and battery-grade materials, and the company currently contributes a growing percentage of lithium supplied to the ecosystem. The intent of circular economy plans and efforts is that recycling eventually becomes the main supply. The technology to make this happen exists with us, and we are on the cusp of scaling up in a big way, which includes setting up an LMFP unit in Tamil Nadu. India has the largest reserves of manganese, and LOHUM’s LMFP facility will play a key role in utilising these reserves. Moreover, this also helps de-risk the supply chain as most LMFP raw materials are abundant within the country.
According to our calculations, India can save up to US$ 1 billion in forex if we replace imports of critical minerals with domestic recycling and refining. LOHUM’s patented recycling and refining technology can serve as India’s pathway to critical mineral circularity. Purity levels 99.8% are globally the accepted standard for battery-grade material. Any material that does not adhere to this is considered scrap in global markets.
Holding a market share of ~80% in India, LOHUM is rapidly expanding its scale and critical minerals portfolio.
In addition to preventing valuable assets from becoming landfill waste, a parallel closed-loop ecosystem effectively contributes to the country’s mineral security and will support the development of cell manufacturing and other advanced industries.
Q. What are your views on how India is doing regarding its 2070 Net Zero goals? What are we doing well and what can be done better? Theoretically speaking, is it possible for any emerging economy to lean more on recycling than mining for its lithium needs? What are the three or four disruptions that can make this possible?
The “Synchronizing Energy Transitions Towards Possible Net-Zero for India: Affordable and Clean Energy for All” report highlighted that the energy transition needs multiple pathways to be adopted with the co-existence of myriad technologies in India’s energy basket. The progressive targets for 2030, 2047, and 2070 that have been announced by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India serve as a clarion call for our country to move, adopt, and accelerate decarbonization. For instance, India aims to increase its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 gigawatts by 2030 and fulfill 50% of its energy requirements from renewable sources by the same year. Companies like LOHUM are landing significant investments to ensure that we not only reach but successfully realize these ambitions.
Between now and 2030, India plans to reduce its total projected carbon emissions by 1 billion tonnes. And by 2030, India aims to reduce the carbon intensity of its economy by 45%. India is a young & ambitious economy, and if we stay focused, India can achieve its Net Zero goals ahead of time. What is needed is circularity, institutionalization of clean tech, and approaching our ways of shaping policy with a strong focus on implementation.
Q. Can you help our readers understand why lithium-ion batteries are becoming the preferred clean tech? How does LOHUM fit into its ecosystem?
Lithium-ion batteries offer superior energy density and efficiency compared to other battery technologies. This makes them ideal for applications in electric mobility as well as energy storage solutions. These batteries are also better suited for end-user applications, distributing and managing power, and are highly compatible with renewables.
Lithium-ion batteries have become central to the clean energy transition due to their ability to be recycled and repurposed with the right technology. LOHUM’s proprietary NEETM® technology allows for the recycling and extraction of high-purity materials from used batteries, and the company’s testing and repurposing technology enables existing cells to serve much longer than their first life application alone. This creates a circular economy, reducing the need for new raw materials, and minimising waste. Circularity significantly helps lower the environmental impact of this technology and conserves critical mineral resources, making Li-ion a widespread clean technology.
LOHUM leads the lithium-ion battery recycling ecosystem in India and repurposes batteries for 2nd life energy storage applications. Our technology helps lower the CO2 emissions and water consumption of making new batteries. LOHUM offsets up to 90% of CO2 emissions as compared to new manufacturing through its recycling and repurposing activities. The company has currently offset 126,000 metric tonnes of CO2e and aims to offset 4 million tonnes of CO2 emissions by 2026.
Q. Can you take us through the journey of developing this technology and your personal experience of the R&D environment in the country?
In 2015, before LOHUM’s inception, I observed two key trends. The world was transitioning rapidly to battery power, especially in the mobility sector, and at the same time, millions of tonnes of Li-ion batteries were moving into the unrecycled waste stream. While battery power was obviously more sustainable than oil, there were only a few countries with the raw material reserves needed to make the batteries. I could see the need to diversify supply chains.
LOHUM was founded in 2018 to fill this need. In 2019, we developed the NEETM® Li-ion battery recycling and transition materials refining technology in our R&D lab. This is a highly water-efficient and low-CO2 emissions process. By 2020, we had set up our first, full-scale, ‘reclaim’ facility for recycling battery materials in Greater Noida, with a recycling capacity of recycling 2 GWh of battery materials annually.
In 2020 and 2021, after discovering that many ‘waste’ batteries had a reusable capacity of at least 70% in many cases, LOHUM developed a battery testing and 2nd-life repurposing technology based on residual value determination. By 2023, we had expanded our operations to the US, Europe, and UAE through various strategic partnerships. Clients appreciated our unique full-cycle services, starting from reverse logistics, battery residual value determination, testing, and repurposing to recycling and end-use material refining.
In 2023, LOHUM partnered with IIT Kanpur to advance lithium-ion battery technology and techniques for battery material quality evaluation. It sponsors R&D labs at IIT Kanpur and provides research fellowships to PhD students. LOHUM’s R&D has led various improvements in its battery residual valuation technology, expanding to circular commodity markets and ‘weighted’ future buyback pricing with the DETX™ (Delhi Energy Transition Exchange) platform.
Today LOHUM has an annual recycling capacity of 5 GWh, or 25,000 MT of materials; it has 200+ customers and 100+ partners. The company’s Battery Energy Storage Solution (BESS) production is close to 1 GWh. This year, the company has also launched the VoltFleet EV Fleet management platform and its hardware-agnostic BESS management software suite.
Awards
2020 : Indian Advanced Technology Leader Award, by Frost & Sullivan
2021: National Startup India Award – Waste To Value, by Startup India
2022 : Most Innovative Company of The Year Award, by Confederation of Indian Industry
2023 : National Energy Efficiency Innovation Award, by the Ministry of Power, GoI
2024 : FICCI India Circular Economy Award [ICEA] Winner
2024 : IESA Industry Excellence Award for Battery Circular Economy
Q. While people know and admire the entrepreneur in you, you are also an active philanthropist. What are your views on philanthropy and its role in present-day society?
I see philanthropy as a social need rather than as a token exercise. I strongly believe that education and upskilling can serve as vital levers for socio-economic development and the evolution of nations. To advance sustainability education, we have launched the LOHUM Foundation, focused on bringing environment and sustainability awareness to children of all ages through engaging and interactive programs and workshops.
The LOHUM Foundation has worked with over 30 NGOs and schools to shape 3000 children into sustainability superheroes. The foundation organises exposure visits to LOHUM R&D facilities, where children from various economic and cultural backgrounds meet scientists and see technology in action to learn about sustainability.
The LOHUM Foundation also organises collection drives and superhero webinars, where young sustainability leaders have conversations with leaders from clean energy, wildlife, and more. These activities empower children to become aware and develop leadership skills, organisation skills, and an ownership mindset toward Earth.
VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES
The National Volunteering Grid (NVG) is a digital platform which connects volunteers to interesting opportunities posted by NGOs and Corporates. If you want to sign up as a volunteer please click here to register your interest. For collaborations on National Volunteering Grid, please write to rekha.bohra@cii.in
