Critical Minerals for India's Clean Energy Transition

This research paper examines the vulnerabilities affecting the availability of critical minerals in India, analyzing the political economy of global resource flows and the domestic challenges associated with India's clean energy transition (CET).

• The term 'critical' in the context of minerals refers to a combination of economic, social, and technical factors that restrict supply in the face of increasing demand. Criticality is typically assessed based on the economic importance of the mineral and supply-side vulnerabilities that can cause price volatility and market tightness.
• Supply vulnerabilities for critical minerals include the concentration of production in specific regions, long project development lead times, and resource quality. Additional vulnerabilities, relevant to both developed and developing nations, encompass import reliance, governance, regulatory structures, and environmental and social impacts such as deforestation, biodiversity loss, and pollution.
• India's goals for a net zero transition are expected to drive significant demand for critical minerals, particularly for Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and electric vehicle (EV) batteries. India's specific vulnerabilities are categorized by security, resilience, and sustainable supplies, with insecurity driven by domestic scarcity and heavy import dependence on specific countries for processed minerals.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Critical Minerals for India's Clean Energy Transition. https://www.wri.org/research/critical-minerals-indias-clean-energy-transition

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Critical Minerals for India's Clean Energy Transition. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/critical-minerals-indias-clean-energy-transition.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Critical Minerals for India's Clean Energy Transition |url=https://www.wri.org/research/critical-minerals-indias-clean-energy-transition |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendcritical, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Critical Minerals for India's Clean Energy Transition}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/critical-minerals-indias-clean-energy-transition}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }