Mr. Rajat Verma

(BT/AE/1998)

Mr. Rajat Verma is the founder of LOHUM, the country's largest integrated critical minerals and advanced materials platform. He holds a B.Tech. in Aerospace Engineering from IIT Kanpur, a Master's degree in Aerospace from Stanford University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. His experience spans aerospace, technology, private equity, and sustainable industrial development.
Mr. Verma founded LOHUM to address one of India's most strategic industrial challenges: securing access to critical minerals and advanced materials. India's ambitions in clean energy, defence, electric mobility, and advanced manufacturing depend on materials such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, rare earths, platinum group metals, and semiconductor inputs. His vision is to ensure that India, rather than remaining dependent on concentrated global supply chains, develops the domestic capability to mine, recycle, process, and manufacture these materials.
Under his leadership, LOHUM's operations span mining and recycling, critical minerals processing, and advanced materials manufacturing. The company processes more than 70,000 metric tonnes annually and produces catalysts, alloys, magnets, cathode active materials, and semiconductor materials, serving sectors including electric mobility, green energy, pharmaceuticals, electronics, and steel. With more than 90% of India's end-to-end battery recycling market, LOHUM has also established a large-scale circular economy platform that recovers valuable resources and reduces carbon intensity. Through its investments in the UAE and Africa, the company has extended its minerals and materials presence beyond India.
Mr. Verma's contributions extend beyond LOHUM. He serves as a Technical Expert on the Empowered Committee, chaired by the Cabinet Secretary of India, that oversees the $4 billion National Critical Minerals Mission, and is a member of the Expert Council of NITI Aayog's Frontier Technologies Hub. He co-chairs the CII National Taskforce on Advanced Materials, Critical Minerals and Metals, as well as the FICCI Taskforce on Critical Minerals for FY 2026-27. He also contributes to BIS committees developing national battery standards and serves on the board of More Retail, a joint venture between Amazon and Samara Capital.
For Mr. Verma, the larger opportunity is clear: India can move beyond being a consumer in the global energy and materials transition to become a reliable industrial anchor, producing the critical minerals and advanced materials that India and the world require.
In recognition of his exemplary contributions to entrepreneurship, clean technology, critical minerals, advanced materials, and battery recycling, IIT Kanpur confers upon Mr. Rajat Verma the Distinguished Alumni Award 2026 under the category of Entrepreneurship Excellence.