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State-run NALCO is accelerating an overseas lithium strategy via KABIL, its JV with HCL & MECL, after India clinched rights to five brine blocks in Argentina’s Catamarca province and began on-ground exploration in Oct 2024. CMD B.P. Singh signalled a push to raise NALCO’s stake in KABIL (from 40% toward 50%) to fund acquisitions, while scouting equity in Australian lithium mines as part of India’s China-plus sourcing pivot.
The broader government effort includes talks for stakes in SQM-linked Australian projects and technical partnerships to localise processing, critical because refining capacity is still concentrated in China. New Delhi’s critical-minerals policy backs KABIL to secure lithium/cobalt assets overseas alongside tariff/tax tweaks that ease import of key inputs for the EV value chain.
Why it matters: Lithium is the choke point for EVs, grid storage and electronics. Fast-tracking KABIL’s Argentina programme and potential Australia deals would give India earlier access to upstream supply while domestic cell/module capacity scales.
