This will help India increase the production of electric vehicles and reduce emissions
India and Australia have reached a major milestone in working towards investment in critical minerals projects to develop supply chains between the two countries.

Holding a bilateral meeting on Friday, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Madeleine King and Minister for Coal, Mines, and Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi announced that the partnership has identified 5 target projects, including 2 for lithium and 3 for cobalt, to undertake detailed due diligence.

The two sides have also decided to expand their partnership and their current obligations to the India-Australia Critical Minerals Investment Partnership.

Investments under the Partnership will seek to build new supply chains underpinned by critical minerals processed in Australia, that will help India’s plans to lower emissions from its electricity network and become a global manufacturing hub, including for electric vehicles, India's Ministry of Mines said on Saturday.

“The partnership between India’s KABIL and CMO Australia has reached the first mile stone in a short span of one year from signing of the MoU in March 2022 between both the organisations’ observed Minister Joshi.

Minister King said “India’s goals to lower carbon emissions and boost electric vehicle production presents great opportunities and prospects for Australia’s critical minerals sector, for renewable exports and for building stronger supply chains".

“Working together, both the nations are committed to reduce emissions, guarantee energy security and diversify global markets for critical minerals and clean technologies” added the Minister.

For the uninitiated, Australia is the second-largest producer of cobalt, the fourth-largest producer of rare earths, and it produces about half of the world's lithium. Due to this, the collaboration between India and Australia will go a long way toward assuring mutually beneficial vital mineral supply chains, especially given the anticipated rise in the demand for low-emissions technology over the ensuing three decades.

Visiting Western Australia in 2022, Union Minister Joshi inspected the Kwinana Lithium Hydroxide Refinery of Tianqi Lithium Energy. Since Minister Joshi's visit to Western Australia, the collaboration on essential minerals has gained more impetus.