News Brief
India Fast-Tracks Break From China With Local Production, Alternate Supply Chains Of Critical EV Magnets: Report
Electric vehicles. (Representative image)
India’s electric vehicle (EV) industry is grappling with a potential bottleneck as domestic automakers currently have just about a month’s supply of rare earth magnets — a critical component for EV motors, The Hindu Businessline reported citing government officials who reviewed the situation this week.
To address the looming supply risk, the government is fast-tracking efforts on multiple fronts: commercialising homegrown magnet-making technology, securing alternate supply chains from countries like Vietnam and the US, and accelerating local production through private and public partnerships.
A key development involves Hyderabad-based Midwest Advanced Materials Private Ltd (MAM), which is set to start commercial magnet production in India, according to a senior government official cited in the report.
China has recently imposed export restrictions on rare earth magnets — a segment it dominates both in terms of supply and processing.
The country is responsible for nearly 70 per cent of the world’s rare earth mining and controls about 90 per cent of global production, giving it near-total command over this critical resource.
Backed by funding from the Department of Science, MAM plans to begin operations in roughly six months, with an initial target of producing 500 tonnes of neodymium magnets annually.
The company will reportedly establish an integrated production module for rare earth magnets, starting with oxides.
Neodymium (NdFeB) permanent magnets are key components for propulsion systems in electric vehicles and generators in renewable energy infrastructure.
The domestic long-term of rare earth magnets will eventually scale to 5,000 tonnes per annum by 2030.
The raw material will be supplied by state-run firm India Rare Earths Ltd (IREL), making the venture economically viable.
Broader industrial applications still rely heavily on Chinese imports.
The recent Chinese export restrictions on rare earth magnets have only deepened India’s urgency to diversify and secure supply chains.
On Friday (6 June), Union Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy acknowledged the issue without naming China.
He stated that there continues to be supply chain dominance of one particular country in rare earth element mining and processing
Meanwhile, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) has identified promising rare earth element deposits in Rajasthan’s Barmer and Sikar districts, where 16 exploration projects are underway in FY25.
Most are in the preliminary G4 stage, involving reconnaissance-level surveys.
Interestingly, India also exports some neodymium — a key input for rare earth magnets — to Asian nations (excluding China) for processing.
The rare earth crunch comes at a time when India is scaling up its EV push and renewable energy capacity.
The success of domestic magnet production could mark a critical pivot in reducing strategic dependence on China.
