Nako Dost Muhammad’s night world had been without light for almost a decade.

In the remote village of Kolahu, tucked away in the dusty hills of Tump in Balochistan’s Kech district bordering Iran, darkness was a constant — precluding the hum of a fan, the promise of refrigerated medicine and the safety of a well-lit room. A scorpion’s sting in the night was a crisis met only by the dim, choking flame of a kerosene lamp. From the school in the village to the dispensary nearby, none had power.

This changed a few months ago, when a truck with unfamiliar tools and a curious, maintenance-free battery — the key components of a home solar system, provided under a new scheme by Balochistan’s energy department. Nako was one of 40 people in his village to receive the “home solar solution.”

LET THERE BE LIGHT…

In the vast, sun-scorched expanse of Balochistan — Pakistan’s largest yet most energy-deprived province — a connection to the national power grid is a rarity. Official reports suggest that only about a third of the region is linked, and even those areas suffer from erratic supply.

It is in this void that a transformative force is taking hold, delivered through a grant aid initiative from China. Born from a collaboration with the provincial energy department and China, the programme intends to deliver 15,000 home solar systems to the province’s remote corners. Each kit is a self-contained power source: a 250-watt panel, a charge controller and, most critically, a compact lithium-ion battery — the same technology that powers electric scooters in Karachi and laptops in Lahore.

Lithium-ion batteries, mostly made in China, are electrifying homes and powering dreams, including in the remote corners of Balochistan — an energy revolution in the making. But without local manufacturing or disposal mechanisms, they also raise questions…

For Nako, the technical jargon was meaningless. He knew nothing of “lithium-ion” or the “Guangdong” province stamped on the battery casing. His understanding was beautifully simple: a panel that drank the sunlight, a box that held the day’s energy and the profound promise that, by evening, his one-room mud-brick home would have power enough for two steady lights and the gentle hum of a fan — a small piece of the modern world.

SCALE OF THE REVOLUTION

Nako’s small system is a single data point in a national surge. 

According to global trade data platform Volza, Pakistan imported almost 70 percent of its lithium-ion batteries from China between April 2024 to March 2025, with the rest coming from the US and Vietnam.

The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), in its June 2025 report Battery storage and the future of Pakistan’s electricity grid, reveals that lithium-ion batteries import in 2024 in the country totalled around 1.25 gigawatt-hours (GWh) and, additionally, 400 megawatt-hours (MWh) in the first two months of 2025. The IEEFA report adds this could increase to 8.75 GWh, or 26 percent of the projected peak demand in 2030, “if business as usual persists.”

This demand is set to explode further. Pakistan’s nascent Electric Vehicles (EV) Policy 2020-2025 envisages turning 30 percent of all vehicles into EVs by 2030. With leading manufacturers such as China’s BYD planning local assembly by 2026, the competition for a limited supply of batteries will intensify.

THE LOCAL LANDSCAPE

For now, importing batteries from China is a blessing, but there is a cost to this convenience. This dependency rests on a fragile foundation. While there have been announcements regarding plants to be set up, to date, the country has no local lithium mining, no cell production capabilities and no infrastructure to recycle e-waste.

“If there is a shift in export policy by Beijing, a shipping issue or a geopolitical service cut-off, Pakistan won’t have any alternative supplier,” warns Asumi Heibitan, an electrical engineer at the University of Turbat.

Beyond trade risks, Heibitan points to a pressing issue of equity. A 5-kWh lithium-ion solar system can cost more than Rs200,000 — making it unaffordable for most low-income households. “Schemes such as the one rolled out by Balochistan’s energy department make a difference, but many marginalised communities remain excluded to-date,” he adds.

A LOOMING WASTE CRISIS

That’s not where the problems end. Pakistan currently has no formal lithium-ion recycling capacity. This means end-of-life batteries — typically containing poisonous metals such as cobalt, manganese, nickel and lithium salts — will end up in waste sites, contaminating soil and water. Without a policy for lithium waste, Pakistan risks becoming a dumping ground for its own green energy transition.

Entities such as the US Environmental Protection Agency and the International Energy Agency have identified the inherent risks in recycling lithium-ion batteries. According to them, improper handling of lithium-ion batteries at recycling facilities can lead to “thermal runaway”, a dangerous process where damaged batteries — whether from crushing, puncturing or overheating — can short-circuit internally, causing fires and explosions, while also releasing toxic gases such as hydrogen fluoride.

Compounding these dangers, the global recycling infrastructure is vastly underprepared. According to a Forbes estimate, only five percent of lithium-ion batteries are currently recycled. With demand projected to rise by 30 percent, a growing tidal wave of end-of-life batteries will exacerbate the existing safety and environmental crises, overwhelming a system that is already failing.

It does not help that technical universities, such as the University of Engineering and Technology in Lahore or the NED University in Karachi, offer no specialised courses on battery recycling and management. This educational gap ensures continued reliance on foreign consultants for large-scale projects.

Though geological surveys suggest possible lithium deposits in Chagai and Gilgit-Baltistan, this potential is fragile. Chinese extraction models, local rights and environmental safety concerns present significant hurdles before Pakistan can transition from a consumer to a contributor.

The continued import of Chinese-made batteries, thus, raises critical policy questions. Should the country rely on imported green tech or start building its own local capacity? What happens when tens of thousands of these batteries pile up on garbage heaps with no disposal plan?

Our neighbours are already answering these questions. India is heavily investing in local battery production and has enacted the Battery Waste Management Rule of 2022. Bangladesh and even Rwanda are launching pilot production projects, while Pakistan remains stuck in an import-only paradigm.

A safer future requires coordinated action. The government must encourage local assembly through tax incentives and training. Agreements with China should evolve beyond trade to include joint technology development in SEZs. Critically, authorities must start mapping nationwide battery installations to forecast and manage the coming wave of waste. Public education on safety and quality is essential, as is diversifying import sources to avoid supply shocks.

THE PRICE OF LIGHT

Back in Tump, the days are getting hotter. Nako Dost Muhammad proudly tells visitors that he no longer fears the nights. His grandson can study after dark and his wife doesn’t need to cook before dusk.

But a new fear about the battery has started. A teacher in the village told Nako these batteries can catch fire in extreme heat. He wonders how long the box with Chinese letters will last, as he received no receipt, no warranty and no way to replace it.

For now, the lithium in his battery has travelled a long way — from a mine in Chile, to a factory in Guangdong, to the Karachi port and, finally, on a bumpy road to a village long forgotten by the national grid.

Lithium-ion batteries are a good fit for a country with an unreliable grid and green ambitions. But the way Pakistan is using them now — only importing, with no plan for local industry or waste — is a real risk.

We must decide whether we will only be consumers of foreign technology, or a country that localises, manages and innovates its own green solutions.

The writer is a freelance journalist based in Turbat, Balochistan.
X: @zeeshannasir972

Published in Dawn, EOS, October 26th, 2025