Indian manufacturer shelves lithium battery plans over China curbs – Bloomberg
India’s Reliance Industries has halted plans to manufacture lithium-ion battery cells after it failed to secure technology from a proposed Chinese partner, Bloomberg reported on Monday.
Chinese lithium iron phosphate supplier Xiamen Hithium Energy Storage Technology Co., which was in talks with Reliance to license the required technology, has withdrawn from the plan, the media outlet said, citing anonymous sources.
China announced curbs on rare earths and related technologies in October 2025, including permanent magnets, batteries, and battery components, as well as processing technologies, after trade tensions with the US.
The development has prompted Reliance to refocus on assembling battery energy storage systems (BESS), or containers for its own renewable power projects, according to the Bloomberg report.
“You will note that BESS manufacturing, battery pack manufacturing, and cell manufacturing have always been part of our energy storage plans and we are progressing well in their execution,” a Reliance spokesperson told Bloomberg via email.
In August, Reliance had told shareholders that its battery gigafactory would start in 2026.
Beijing is reportedly working on a deal with Washington on heavy rare-earth magnets and related technologies and is unwilling to provide supplies to India without assurances that they will not be diverted to the US, the Economic Times (ET) reported in October.
New Delhi had not yet agreed to the request, according to the ET report.
India’s energy storage market is expected to reach about 87 gigawatts of power capacity by 2035 – more than 300 times what was installed in 2024, according to Bloomberg estimates.
Lithium is critical for EV batteries and energy storage. China dominates in the extraction or processing of many critical minerals, accounting for over 60% of global processing of cobalt, lithium, and manganese – three minerals that play a major role in batteries.
