Lohum to build 30,000-tonne domestic lithium refinery using Zimbabwe mine feedstock

Indian critical minerals company Lohum is building an integrated supply chain for electric vehicle batteries, establishing 30,000 metric tonnes of annual lithium carbonate refining capacity in India to process material extracted from its newly launched mining operations in Zimbabwe.

The expansion marks a significant step in securing India’s energy independence. By establishing both overseas extraction and domestic processing infrastructure, the company aims to protect Indian battery manufacturers from foreign supply chain disruptions and volatile international spot markets.

Under the plan detailed by Lohum founder and chief executive Rajat Verma, the company will invest $100 million over the next 12 to 18 months on an ore-processing plant in Zimbabwe. The African facility will process raw lithium ore into lithium sulphate, fulfilling local export requirements, before shipping the intermediate product to India for final refining into battery-grade lithium carbonate.

Strengthening domestic EV manufacturing

The refined output will primarily feed Lohum’s planned 20,000-tonne cathode active materials plant in India. The Rs 2,000 crore ($210.8 million) facility is engineered to manufacture nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) chemistries, which Verma expects will account for 30% to 35% of India’s electric vehicle market alongside export demand in the United States.

Any surplus lithium carbonate from the Indian refinery will be sold to third-party domestic cathode manufacturers, helping build a broader clean energy ecosystem within the country. Verma expects the domestic refining operations to reach full capacity within three years.

Global sourcing and growth targets

Founded in 2018 as a battery recycling enterprise, Lohum is rapidly scaling its operations to support India's expanding clean mobility transition. The company currently recovers 1,000 tonnes of secondary nickel annually at its recycling plant in Gujarat.

To secure further raw material inputs for its cathode production roadmap, the group is evaluating early-stage nickel mining assets in Indonesia and the Philippines. Lohum has set a revenue target of Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) by 2029 as it expands across recycling, primary extraction, and refined supply.