On Tuesday, December 12, Hindalco Industries announced its plan to invest INR 800 crore into building a battery foil manufacturing facility at Sambalpur in Odisha in a bid to tap the fast-growing electric vehicle market. The facility will produce 25,000 tonnes of aluminium foil, the backbone of lithium-ion and sodium-ion cells.
"Hindalco Industries is investing INR 800 crore to build a new plant near Sambalpur in Odisha that will initially produce 25,000 tonnes of the resilient product which forms the backbone of Lithium-ion and Sodium-ion cells," the statement said.
To leave no stone unturned to seize the boosted electric vehicle market, Hindalco also plans to significantly expand its production capacity of fine-quality aluminium foil used in rechargeable batteries.
The new battery foil manufacturing facility is expected to be commissioned by July 2025.
Hindalco predicts that India will see a battery-grade aluminium foil demand growth to 40,000 tonnes by 2030, primarily driven by the rise in gigafactories for advanced cell manufacturing.
Satish Pai, Managing Director at Hindalco Industries, said: "We are seeing a fast traction in battery materials demand, driven by an impressive outlook for the electric vehicle and grid storage sectors. Raw material localisation is critical in such strategic sectors.”
In addition, Hindalco is also co-producing critical automobile components like battery enclosures, motor housings, busbars, structural and safety components, and lightweight load bodies with some original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Many of these products are being designed and developed for the first time in India, said Hindalco.
According to the company, these projects are turning it into a high-tech metal solutions provider from a manufacturer.
Hindalco currently produces fine-quality battery foils at its Mouda unit in Maharashtra, which will soon start supplying its products to lithium-ion cell manufacturers in India, Europe, and the United States. The new facility in Odisha will further enable Hindalco to provide materials to gigafactories around the world.
The company is also reportedly working on new coatings for the battery foils that will ramp up performance by delivering better adhesion, lower resistance, and reduced corrosion.
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