As the Indian automobile industry moves closer to the battery-powered electric hybrid vehicles, Australian High Commissioner Barry O’Farrell on Thursday (7 January) said that both Australia and India can profit from expanding trade in lithium resources, reports The Economic Times.
He was speaking at a session on ‘Lithium: Powering a New Australia-India Partnership’ conducted by the Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce.
The Australian High Commissioner said, “Lithium, and Li-ion and other technologies, will play a key role. Indeed, India’s ambitious renewable energy targets have led to an expansion of its clean energy commitments.” O’Farrell stressed that the future is Lithium metal-based battery technologies and it will form the key component of the push for the rollout of EV and hybrid vehicles. He added that Australia is a reliable and cost-competitive supplier of resource and energy commodities.
“Both Australia and India stand to gain from the promise of expanding trade in lithium resources. Australia is the world’s largest producer of lithium and has the second-largest lithium reserves in the world. And, as a market leader in Mining Equipment, Technology and Services (METS), our firms can contribute to the development of India’s own lithium resources,” he added.
The Australian High Commissioner was very clear when he said that this is the best timing for lithium related trade and investment to diversify and strengthen the supply chain as India is pushing for self-sufficiency and experiencing high growth in new economy sectors.
The last two decades saw a lot of research on battery and Lithium is a key component of batteries and other electronics including electric cars that are becoming increasingly common in use. Australia has the second-largest minable lithium reserves.