METI Co-Hosts Conference on Battery and Critical Minerals Ecosystem in the Republic of India

As societies strive to achieve carbon neutrality, the roles of stationary batteries and batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming increasingly important. At the same time, both Japan and India depend largely on certain countries for their battery cells and related components, as well as mineral resources. As investment in battery cell manufacturing is currently gaining momentum in India, establishing an ecosystem for battery-related industries that does not depend on certain countries is a pressing issue from the perspective of diversifying and strengthening supply chains. The ecosystem is expected to primarily involve battery-related components and manufacturing equipment, recycling, critical minerals, and battery users.

To this end, METI, jointly with MOF, the Embassy of Japan in India, and JETRO, invited stakeholders in the public and private sectors and hosted the Conference on Battery and Critical Minerals in which a roundtable discussion and business matchmaking session was held. In the roundtable meeting, participants exchanged information for the purpose of promoting investments and building ecosystems for battery-related industries. The one-on-one business matchmaking sessions were held to encourage collaboration between the Japanese and Indian governments and companies.

As the Chair of the G7 Hiroshima 2023, the Government of Japan has led discussions for and contributed to the establishment of the Partnership for Resilient and Inclusive Supply Chain Enhancement (RISE), an initiative for cooperating with partner countries and the World Bank to help low- and middle-income Global South countries play a greater role in the supply chains for clean energy products such as solar panels and batteries, especially in terms of refining/processing of critical minerals in the midstream and component manufacturing/assembly in the downstream. The Conference on Battery and Critical Minerals Ecosystem aligns with this kind of initiative conducted by the Government of Japan.

More than 200 people from over 70 companies, including 33 member companies of Japan’s Battery Association for Supply Chain, attended this event and took part in discussions and business matchmaking sessions. This momentum is expected to foster collaboration between Japanese and Indian companies, contributing to the diversification and strengthening of supply chains – a shared challenge for both countries.

Division in Charge

Battery Industry Division, Commerce and Information Policy Bureau