Etero Recycling Court Will Supply Battery Parts For Tesla Gigafactory

“We have explored the possibility of exporting our recycled production to Tesla, and are happy to purchase it from us. However, the deal could not be finalized due to COVID-19. No agreement has been signed yet, But we had early talks with Tesla for such an arrangement.”

The Gigafactory will be the world’s largest building, which will be powered entirely by renewable energy. According to the Tesla website, “the materials in Tesla lithium-ion batteries are recoverable and recyclable”.

“Battery materials that are refined and put into a cell will still remain in the cell at the end of their life when they can be recycled to recover their valuable material for reuse over and over again.” None of the scrapped lithium-ion batteries will go to landfills, and will be 100% recycled,” it said.

Gupta said his talks with Tesla do not indicate the possibility of the company setting up a battery assembling or cell manufacturing plant in India.

“To begin with, in my opinion, Tesla may look to import its fully built cars into India. In the second phase, it may start assembling cars in India, and in the third and final phase, it may set up a gigafactory in India. But, it’s still a long way off.” Tesla spokespersons could not be reached for comment by press time.

Tesla currently sources its batteries from major producers such as Panasonic, China’s CATL and South Korea’s LG Chem. It will start manufacturing its own battery once the Gigafactory is operational.

Tesla India Motors & Energy Pvt., a wholly owned subsidiary of Tesla. Ltd. has received approval from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to introduce four EV models for the domestic market. It is reportedly in talks with the government to reduce import duty on fully manufactured units, which attract 60-100% tax. However, no formal decision has been taken yet.

Gupta said cell manufacturers have not yet invested in India, but the government’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for advanced chemical cell manufacturing could attract firms. “I expect global cell makers to consider India as a market. This will allow us to close the circular economy loop of supplying recycled key components back to the industry in India.”

Japan’s TDK Corp. The subsidiary of Amperex Technology Ltd had acquired 180 acres near Gurugram in 2020 to set up a SAIL manufacturing unit. It is expected to start operations by the end of 2022.

Gupta expects that the draft policy, called ‘Circular Economy in Electronics and Electrical Sector’ by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, will be formally adopted by the end of the financial year. The draft states that despite India being the third largest e-waste generator after China and the US, it collects only 10% of the waste.

The draft says that in the short term, the objective is to collect the major components and secondary material from the e-waste generated in India. The PLI scheme should be expanded to include manufacturers using recycled battery materials, complying with recycling standards and establishing a sustainable product policy.

Ravi Neeladri, CEO of Bengaluru-based Cerebra Green, says that initial steps are already underway by the government to implement e-waste compliance. “Original equipment manufacturers are being asked to recover 50 percent of the equipment that each of them manufactured a certain number of years ago, and to recycle them at the end of their life cycle, ” They said.