Diversified & circular renewable energy and critical mineral supply chains will play a critical role in India’s energy transition: Shri B. S. Bhalla, Secretary, MNRE – EQ Mag
Diversification of supply chains to generate green jobs: Shri Alok Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Power
Government working to make India secure in critical minerals: Shri Vivek Bharadwaj, Secretary, Ministry of Mines
As part of the second Energy Transition Working Group meeting of India’s G20 Presidency, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, the Ministry of Mines and the Ministry of Power, Government of India, hosted the official side event, ‘Diversifying Renewables & Critical Minerals Supply Chains to Advance Energy Transition’ in Gandhinagar, Gujarat today. The event, supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), focused on diversifying and securing renewable energy (RE) and critical mineral supply chains for energy transitions, including promoting circularity in value chains.
In his keynote address Mr Bhupinder Singh Bhalla, Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India said, “India, under its G20 presidency, takes pride in hosting leaders, experts, government officials, energy sector financiers and other key players to focus on the critical need for a cost-effective and risk-proof scale-up of clean energy through diversified supply chains and distributive expansion of manufacturing base. We hope and expect that the deliberations today will help identify a set of collective changes that will put the world on the path to rapid scaling-up of renewable energy, while ensuring energy security, affordability and better quality of life for our people.” Mr Bhalla noted that a series of economic disruptions have exposed the world to risks that are slowing down the pace of the global clean energy transition and have raised concerns about energy security.
While setting the context for the meeting, Mr Vivek Bharadwaj, Secretary, Ministry of Mines, noted in his keynote address that the majority of critical mineral reserves are in 15 countries. “The human race has fought many crises – whether the Ozone layer depleting, the Covid pandemic or the energy crisis in the 1970s. I am sure we will be able to address the criticality of minerals too and the Indian government is working towards making the country secure,” he said.
Ms Mamta Verma, Principal Secretary, Energy & Petrochemicals, Government of Gujarat, talked about the role of Gujarat in fulfilling India’s renewable energy targets. “Gujarat has been aggressive in its renewable energy policies and stepping up manufacturing capabilities. We need to develop a good framework to strengthen supply chains, a robust R&D mechanism, and more renewable energy parks so that manufacturing hubs can come up.”
Energy Transition Working Group Chair Mr Alok Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Power, said that the consensus in the recent Energy Transitions Working Group meetings has been that renewables will have an important role in reaching net-zero targets, and accessible supply chains will be important. “For a large country like India, diversification of supply chains will mean a lot of local manufacturing, thus generating green jobs. A circular economy and alternative technologies for battery storage will be key too,” he said.
Dr Arunabha Ghosh, CEO, CEEW, emphasised that a speedy, resilient and inclusive transition to renewable energy will only be possible if countries can secure access to uninterrupted and affordable supply chains of key technologies. “Through its G20 Presidency, India could promote comprehensive tracking of global RE manufacturing capacity and trade flows to inform expansion and diversification strategies, and foster competition in trade,” he added.
The event, which convened leading experts in the sector from industry, academia and policy-making, saw the launch of two reports – CEEW’s ‘Developing Resilient Renewable Energy Supply Chains for Global Clean Energy Transition’, and CEEW, International Energy Agency (IEA), Institute of Transportation Studies UC Davis and World Resources Institute India (WRII)’s report ‘Addressing Vulnerabilities in the Supply Chain of Critical Minerals’. It also featured two panel discussions on securing renewable energy supply chains, and strengthening the mineral value chain by increasing production and infusing circularity.
The closing address was delivered by Dr Veena Kumari D, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Mines, and Mr Dinesh D Jagdale, Joint Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, who talked about the way forward, mindful usage of resources, resilient supply chains, and ensuring sufficient technologies to meet renewable energy targets.
Speakers included Mr Kenichi Yokoyama, Director General, South Asia Regional Dept, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Dr Brian Motherway, Head, Energy Efficiency Division, International Energy Agency (IEA), Dr Ajay Mathur, Director General, International Solar Alliance (ISA), Mr Rishabh Jain, Senior Programme Lead, CEEW, Ms Gauri Singh, Deputy Director General, IRENA, Mr Rajarshi Gupta, Managing Director, ONGC Videsh Ltd, Mr Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Co-Chair, CII National Committee on Power, and MD, Apraava Energy Ltd, Mr Mayank Choudhary, Unit Head for South Asia, Private Sector Operations, ADB, Dr V Anbumozhi, Director, Research Strategy and Innovation, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), and Dr Pradeep Tharakan, Director, Energy Transition, ADB.
