In India, a major scientific breakthrough has been achieved in extracting the lithium needed to make batteries for electric vehicles from seawater. Scientists at the Bhabha Atomic Research Center have developed a chemical technique that can extract about 90% of the lithium dissolved in natural seawater. This could help reduce India’s dependence on other countries for lithium. However, it will still be necessary to use this technology on a large scale and evaluate its cost.

The use of electric vehicles and renewable energy is increasing all over the world. Along with this, the demand for batteries that can store electricity is also increasing. Lithium-ion batteries are widely used in electric vehicles, mobile phones and energy storage systems due to their high energy storage capacity, long life and good performance.

The EV market in India is also growing rapidly, but India’s import dependency is high in terms of lithium and cells needed to make batteries. In such a scenario, an increase in the price of lithium in the international market or an impact on supply may affect the price of batteries and electric vehicles.

How will BARC extract lithium from sea water?

BARC scientists have developed a special chemical process to extract lithium from seawater. First of all, the pH level of water is gradually raised with the help of sodium hydroxide and sodium carbonate. This helps in removing other elements like magnesium and calcium from the water.

According to research, more than 99% of unwanted elements were removed in this process, while most of the lithium remained in the water. This is important because, along with lithium, many other elements are also present in seawater. In such a situation, an important challenge of this technique is to separate the remaining elements while conserving lithium.

90% lithium recovery in low solvent

1. Less solvent use: The ratio of water to organic solvent was kept at 10:1. That is, about 100 ml of solvent was required for 1 liter of water.
2. Less chemicals required: The MIBK solvent helps stabilize the lithium chemical complex, which can reduce the need to add additional chemicals.
3. Effect of mixing time: The mixing time of water and solvent affects lithium recovery. Recovery is better with proper contact time.
4. Lithium recovery up to 90%: Dilute nitric acid was used to isolate the lithium. After repeating the process five times, about 90% recovery was achieved.
5. Solvent Reuse: After removing the lithium, the solvent can be reused. However, each cycle reduces the solvent by about 10%, which can significantly increase costs.

How much lithium does India import?

Imports of lithium and lithium ion batteries have increased in India over the past few years. According to the data provided, their import in FY 2018 was around Rs. 3,532 crore, which will increase to Rs. 25,458.6 crores.

In FY 2026, the import figure reached Rs 37,624.6 crore in the 11 months from April 2025 to February 2026. Which is about 48% higher than the corresponding period of last financial year. India is dependent on imports for refined lithium and battery-grade lithium-ion cells. China has a major share in this supply.

Will EVs be cheaper if lithium is extracted from the sea?

If BARC’s technology can be successfully deployed on a large scale, it could pave the way for India to have a domestic source of lithium. This can help reduce dependence on imports and strengthen battery supply.

However, the lithium content in seawater is low. Therefore, achieving only 90% recovery is not sufficient. It also has to be seen how much sea water, how much chemical, how much energy and how much money is spent to extract a certain amount of lithium. In addition, the cost and environmental impact of taking the technique from the lab to the large scale industrial scale needs to be assessed.