Critical Minerals-Free Battery Systems: Are They Reliable?

India's move to electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy is causing a huge spike in the need for batteries. Batteries power electric vehicles (EVs), which include two, three, or four wheels, store energy from solar and wind farms, back up telecom and data centres, and more.

Illustration by The Geostrata

GROWING BATTERY DEMAND IN INDIA

In India's electric vehicle market in 2023, over 5% of two-wheelers and more than 50% of three-wheelers sales were electric. The government's goal is for 30% of vehicles to be electric by 2030, which will increase the need for batteries. In the same way, grid-scale storage is growing.

India added 0.34 GWh of battery energy storage in 2024 (up from 0.05 GWh in 2023) and may need 15 GWh by 2027. Telecom towers, important infrastructure, and even small rural microgrids all need big batteries (traditionally lead-acid, but now Li-ion). To sum up, India's need for batteries is growing quickly and includes mobile transport, power grids, and backup systems. 

INDIA'S DEPENDENCE ON IMPORTED CRITICAL MATERIALS

India's import dependence on Critical Minerals: Conventional Li-ion batteries need a lot of "critical minerals" (lithium, cobalt, nickel, etc.) that India nearly totally imports.

In 2020, India got all of the lithium, cobalt, and nickel it used from other countries. These supply chains are geopolitically turbulent, given the industrial capacity that China holds in the critical minerals supply chain, leading to unprecedented leverage in favour of the Chinese state.

India doesn't have a lot of lithium or cobalt of its own (there have been some recent discoveries of lithium in Rajasthan, but no big mines yet).

The Indian government has started a National Critical Minerals Mission to enable minerals exploration, recycling, and strategic imports within the country. They expect to spend ₹343 billion on this mission from 2023 to 2028. It has also led to joint ventures, like Khanij Bidesh India Ltd. investing abroad, and partnerships, like the U.S.–India Mineral Security Partnership. India "remains largely dependent" on imports of battery materials as of 2024, but the IEEFA says that demand will skyrocket as EV sales continue to rise.

EXPLORING MINERAL-FREE ALTERNATIVES

India has to import almost all of the lithium, cobalt, and nickel it needs for batteries right now, which makes the supply unstable. Industries are looking into batteries that don't need rare minerals as a way to cut down on imports and costs. Sodium-ion, zinc-based, aluminium-based, and different organic or flow chemistries are some of the more well-known options. Instead of Lithium(, Co, or Ni, these use common elements like Na, Zn, Al, or organic molecules. We compare these to Li-ion batteries below.

SODIUM-ION (NA-ION) BATTERIES

Sodium-ion (Na-ion) batteries work like Li-ion batteries, except they use sodium salts (such as NaPF₆) and cathode materials like layered sodium-metal oxides or polyanionic frameworks, along with hard carbon anodes. Sodium is cheap and easy to find on Earth (NaCl is easy to find). Na-ion cells have less energy density than Li-ion cells, about 100–150 Wh/kg (compared to 150–250 Wh/kg for Li-ion cells), but they can still power electric vehicles and storage.

The cycle life is long (usually 1000 to 2000 cycles), and the safety is good because the electrolytes are salt solutions that don't catch fire. EY says that Na-ion batteries could be 20–30% cheaper than Li-ion batteries when they are made in large quantities.

The trade-off is that the packs are a little bigger and heavier for the same range since the energy density is reduced. Work is still being done on the anode and cathode. 

INDIAN INNOVATION IN SODIUM ION

Several Indian companies are working on Na-ion: Reliance Industries bought the UK company Faradion, which was one of the first to work on Na-ion, and plans to build a Jamnagar gigafactory for Na-ion BESS and EV battery packs. The startup Indi Energy, which is a spinoff of IIT-Roorkee, is working on commercial Na-ion pouch cells. Academic teams at IITs and the Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CECRI) are also trying to improve Na-ion chemistries.

ZINC- AIR AND OTHER ZINC BATTERIES

Batteries that employ zinc, like Zn–air, use a zinc metal anode and an oxygen cathode to use the O₂ in the air. Theoretical energy density is very high: primary (non-rechargeable) Zn–air batteries can reach 400–450 Wh/kg, which is far higher than Li-ion. Zinc is cheap, safe, and zinc-air batteries (such as those used in hearing aids) last a long time. The main goal of most Zn–air research is to make them rechargeable. Rechargeable Zn–air batteries (mainly metal–air or flow designs so far) promise very high energy density and safety (no risk of fire).

There is a lot of research going on in India.

For example, IIT Madras is working on sophisticated rechargeable Zn–air batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage. They say that zinc is "abundant and low-cost in India" and that the batteries work safely in a range of situations without overheating.

But there are still practical problems: recharging needs special catalysts and electrolytes, and things like electrode corrosion and slow oxygen reaction kinetics shorten cycle life. When it comes to EV drives, Zn–air isn't as reliable as Li-ion yet, but it works great as a low-cost, stationary or backup power source. Researchers are also looking at other types of zinc batteries, like zinc-nickel or zinc-manganese dioxide, but they have the same problems with recharging.

ALUMINUM-BASED BATTERIES

Aluminium-based batteries are also being looked into because aluminium is very common and light. Theoretically, "Al–air" (aluminium–air) cells with Al metal anodes can have very high energy densities (8.1 kWh/kg based on Al mass, orders of magnitude above Li-ion) since each Al atom gives out three electrons. If the problem of recharging Al–air batteries could be addressed, they would be highly useful for electric vehicles.

Indian researchers are looking at this. IIT Jodhpur issued a detailed review that talked about Al–air's 8.1 kWh/kg energy density and how well it works for electric vehicles. The inexpensive cost of Al and its high energy density are two of its best features.

There are also big problems with Al. It rusts in normal electrolytes, and most Al–air designs today are primary (single-use) since it is hard to replate Al. A few research groups across the world have shown off rechargeable Al-air (using ionic liquids or specific electrolytes), but the cycle life is quite short. So, Al–air is not a fully developed commercial solution for EVs yet. Rechargeable "Al-ion" batteries, which use Al³⁺ in strange ionic liquid electrolytes, are even more experimental.

Other multi-valent metals, such as calcium or magnesium, have been suggested; IIT Jodhpur even published a prototype Ca–Mg dual-anode system. These divalent systems have the potential to have higher theoretical capacities and safer electrolytes than Li-ion, although they are still just in the lab.

ORGANIC AND FLOW BATTERIES

"Organic" batteries use carbon-based redox compounds (such as quinones or polymers) on solid or liquid electrodes. Vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) and newer organic redox-flow systems keep energy in big tanks of electrolyte. Flow batteries can go through more than 10,000 cycles and use a lot of different elements. Vanadium is quite important, but organic flows don't need any heavy metals. But they don't have a lot of energy density (liquid systems frequently have less than 50 Wh/kg), and their balance-of-system (pumps, tanks) is complicated.

India's industry is interested in redox flows for grid storage (and an earlier ET report suggested vanadium flow as a non-Li possibility), but these are mostly for stationary storage. There are other Zn–bromine and other water flows that work. These chemistries usually compromise energy density for cycle life and safety, making them better for backup and renewable storage than for powering vehicles.

ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL VIABILITY

Cost factors strongly favour mineral-free chemistry when it comes to economic viability. The markets for lithium, cobalt, and nickel are unstable. Sodium, on the other hand, is 1000 times more common than lithium, zinc, and aluminium, which are all metals. EY says that Na-ion batteries could be 20–30% cheaper than Li-ion cells when they are made bigger.

Zinc is also quite inexpensive per kilogram, and if the problem of recharging Zn–air cells can be solved, they could be cheaper than Li-ion cells. Indian R&D wants to make the most of local resources. For example, IIT Madras's zinc-air research shows how India's large zinc supplies could lead to cheaper batteries and savings on foreign cash.

POLICY INCENTIVES AND INDUSTRIAL SHIFTS

Policy incentives speed up investments in industry. Manufacturers of all advanced chemistries, including Li-free systems, can get subsidies through India's ACC–Battery PLI initiative, which has a budget of ₹18,100 Cr for 50 GWh by 2027. The government has made it clear that the last 10 GWh of PLI capacity would be used for stationary storage, which may be open to other chemistries.

In reality, established Li-ion companies like Tata Chemicals, Exide, L&TFH, and Reliance are likely to start making Li-ion LFP batteries first. However, new Na-ion companies like Reliance New Energy/Faradion can also benefit from these plans.

An effective domestic Na-ion or Zn–air business could cut the cost of battery packs by lowering import tariffs and currency risk. But commercial maturity isn't the same for everyone. Li-ion pack prices (around $130–150/kWh for Chinese imports) are still lower than any Na-ion or Zn-air product on the market as of 2025.

This is because Li-ion is made on a gigascale. For instance, early Na-ion cells tend to be bigger to hold the same amount of energy and cost a little more per kWh. In the foreseeable future, high-performance Li-ion batteries will probably still be cheaper per unit of energy. So, the economic feasibility of alternatives depends on scaling: Na-ion and Zn batteries will only continuously beat Li-ion in kWh terms with big factories and more breakthroughs.

ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS AND RECYCLING ADVANTAGES

Critical-mineral-free batteries can be better for the environment and easier to recycle. Mining lithium and cobalt has big effects: making lithium-ion batteries releases carbon (each tonne of mined lithium may make 15 tons of CO₂), and extracting brine can use up water supplies and contaminate nearby aquifers. Mining cobalt also causes problems with forests and workers' rights. Sodium, zinc, and aluminium, on the other hand, have supply chains that are wider and less harmful. It is easy to get sodium from seawater without causing too much damage.

The zinc and aluminium sectors already have significant recycling rates (in India, zinc scrap and aluminium are recycled a lot). Sodium-ion batteries don't use any heavy metals that are harmful; their main parts (Na, Fe, Mn, P, C) are not very reactive, and salt-based electrolytes are safer and easier to work with. Zinc-air and aluminium-air chemistries also use metals that are not harmful (Zn, Al) and oxygen from the air.

Researchers at IIT Jodhpur say that multivalent systems like Zn²⁺, Mg²⁺, or Ca²⁺ not only increase energy density but also employ "safer electrolytes." A punctured or dead Na-ion or Zn battery is less dangerous than a Li-ion battery, which can catch fire.

India's "circular battery" aims for recycling, saying that by 2027, 90% of the materials from end-of-life EV batteries should be recovered. Li-ion recycling technology is getting better (for example, Tesla's Redwood Materials gets back more than 90% of Li/Ni/Co from scrap), but India doesn't have the capacity to do it on a broad scale now. Na-ion cells would make recycling easier because they don't have cobalt or rare Li in them, and their electrodes could be reused or immediately re-smelted with less complicated chemistry.

Zinc and aluminium electrodes can already be used in well-known metal recovery procedures. Some studies say that Na-ion batteries have a smaller impact on the environment than Li-ion batteries.

The cycle life of grid-scale flow systems is almost indefinite, which makes them much better for the environment than throwaway chemicals.

In short, alternative chemistries promise a reduced environmental footprint by employing less harmful products and mining fewer rare metals. They will still need to treat metals and chemicals, though, so lifecycle analysis is still going on. When these batteries replace Li-ion in applications like stationary storage, where energy density isn't as important but the amount of material is significant, the net gain is the biggest.

INDIAN RESEARCH AND INDUSTRIAL INITIATIVES

India is aggressively promoting alternate battery R&D. The IITs, IISc, and CECRI have all received funding from national and state science bodies (DST, DBT, SERB, etc.) for work on Na-ion, Zn-air, Mg/Ca, and even organic batteries. IIT Madras, for instance, is testing Zn–air cells and has talked about how they could be useful in India. IIT Jodhpur wrote reviews that anybody can read about Al–air and "post-lithium" batteries. Researchers at IIT Kanpur have made prototypes of Na-ion and Na/dual-ion cells.

Some startups, like OTT Hybrid, Waree, and Kanodia, are working on building local Li-ion capacity, although some are also looking toward Na alternatives. Reliance New Energy Ltd (RNEL) is the most important operator in the industrial sector. It bought Faradion, a UK Na-ion company, and expects to start making Na-ion battery cells in Gujarat by the end of 2025. The goal of this plant is to make batteries for utilities for homes and businesses. Reliance is also a major investor in Ambri, a US business that makes liquid metal batteries. This shows that the company is interested in other next-gen storage.

Other big companies and OEMs, such as Tata Group and Adani, have shown interest in different chemistries, although their public actions are largely focused on Li-ion, which is often LFP chemistry that utilises less cobalt and iron.

The Indian firm Indi Energy (IIT-Roorkee) is already selling Na-ion cell devices. In the meantime, global companies with research and development centres in India, such as BASF or 3M, may work together to create novel electrolytes or catalysts.

The PLI ACC program from the government doesn't care what kind of technology it is, so Na-ion companies can join. In the same way, policies that support electric vehicles (such as FAME subsidies and auto PLI) also indirectly support the development of any battery technology that works. The National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage (NITI Aayog) says that we should support the development and use of battery technology and manufacturing in India.

ARE THESE BATTERIES RELIABLE?

Are these batteries that don't include any key minerals reliable replacements? There is no clear answer. Na-ion and Zn-based batteries are already good for stationary or low-speed uses like grid storage and backup. They are efficient, last a long time, and are safe as long as the size and weight are acceptable.

For electric vehicles, the bar is set higher: they need to have a lot of energy and charge quickly. Na-ion is the closest here. Its pack has 20–25% less range than Li-ion, but it can still power short-range electric vehicles like two-wheelers and city cars. Tests done in China and India demonstrate that Na-ion packs can go through more than 2000 cycles with very little fade.

Zn–air and Al–air batteries don't match the needs of electric vehicles right now. Their reliability (cycle life and discharge rate stability) isn't as good because of problems with the electrolyte and electrode.

Temperature stability: Na-ion and aqueous Zn batteries work best at moderate temperatures and are safer than Li-ion batteries at high temperatures (which can go into thermal runaway above 60°C). However, Na-ion's performance in cold temperatures is still getting better (Na salts crystallise at subzero temperatures, but new salts help with this). Li-ion is still better at very low temperatures. Zn–air and Al–air work at room temperature, but electrodes can be damaged by long-term exposure to humidity and CO₂.

Lifecycle and durability: The expected cycle life of Na-ion is similar to or better than that of Li-ion. Flow batteries are the best here, but they aren't small. Zn-air/Al-air "fuel cell" kinds break down because of byproducts on the electrodes (Zn dendrites, carbonate production), hence they need engineering maintenance. There isn't much data on the reliability of most Li-free cells yet. Indian research and development is only now starting to show off prototypes.

In short, Li-ion is still the best choice for dependability and performance. But every year, Na-ion and other types of chemistry are getting better in certain areas.

Na-ion drives can be almost as reliable as Li-ion drives for many cars if they are packaged and kept at the right temperature. Because they are naturally safe, Zn–air might safely power backup stations or even two-wheelers (provided the issue of recharging is solved).

Metal-air systems like aluminium are fascinating, but they can't be used as direct Li-ion plug-ins right now since they need to "refuel" metal anodes instead of cycling quickly through electrochemical processes.

STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS FOR INDIA

Making batteries without key minerals fits with India's "Make in India" and energy security aspirations. India can lower its import costs and make the most of its manufacturing base by using the many resources it has at home, like seawater Na, domestic Zn/Al, and agricultural carbon.

Reliance, which is managed by Ambani, is banking big that sodium-ion will be a huge export opportunity for India, just like petrochemicals were. If it works, India might become one of the first countries to make Na-ion or Zn batteries on a commercial scale and sell them to other emerging nations where Li is even harder to get.

India's approach to policy is mostly supportive: incentives don't force a single chemistry, so new ideas can come from within the country. But worldwide standards and supply chains are still focused on Li-ion, and automobile OEMs design around Li-ion. India needs to make sure that its alternative chemistry batteries meet international safety standards (such BIS certification) and performance standards in order to profit.

The government also has to figure out how to get more resources: even Na-ion needs high-purity cathode materials (some of which come from China) and manufacturing equipment (such as electric furnaces and coating machines). Recent actions, like making deals for raw materials with friendly countries, will assist.

Lastly, energy security is a key reason. India spent $2.2 billion on EV batteries from other countries in 2024. Every penny that India doesn't send overseas to buy lithium or Li-batteries makes its financial sheet stronger.

In this strategic game, having a domestic Na-ion or Zn battery industry might be helpful. Also, having more than one type of chemistry protects against supply shocks. If a political crisis in the future stops the flow of Ni or Co, Na-ion or Zn batteries could keep important mobility and grid services going.

CONCLUSION: THE ROAD AHEAD

In conclusion, batteries that don't use critical minerals, like sodium-ion, zinc-air, and other similar chemistries, have a lot of potential for India's energy revolution. They use cheap, plentiful resources and are safer and more environmentally friendly. Indian corporations and researchers are working hard to make these systems, and government policies are encouraging manufacturing in India.

But right now, these other options don't offer the same level of performance across the board as lithium-ion. Sodium-ion is the closest (20–30% less range, but more cheaper). Zinc-air and aluminium-air could potentially change the range of batteries, but in reality, they have problems with reliability (catalysts, corrosion, recharging) that make them less useful outside of niche applications.

A diverse battery portfolio is probably the best way for India to move forward. Li-ion batteries (particularly iron-based LFP cells) will power most electric vehicles and home battery plants in the near future since they are more mature and larger.

At the same time, it is wise to keep investing in mineral-free technologies, as they may become reliable and cost-effective for some uses in a few years.

In a bigger sense, producing these alternatives is less about whether they can fully replace Li-ion and more about making the system stronger by having batteries made in the US. With more advancements in research and development and the ability to make them bigger, Na-ion and other batteries that don't use key minerals could become a reliable and cheap addition to India's energy future alongside standard Li-ion systems.

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BY MUKUND SUSURLA

CENTRE FOR CRITICAL AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

TEAM GEOSTRATA

info@thegeostrata.com