Hindalco Industries, on 12 December, announced its plans to invest Rs 800 crore to build a battery foil manufacturing facility that will be located in Sambalpur, Odisha, to tap into the growing market of electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems.

In its regulatory filing, the company said that the battery foil plant will be commissioned by July 2025.

Initially, the manufacturing facility will produce 25,000 tinners of resilient products that form the backbone of Lithium-ion and Sodium-ion cells. However, by 2023, the company expects the demand for battery-grade aluminium foil in India is expected to grow multi-fold to 40,000 tonners, which will be primarily driven by the significant growth 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 EV and Grid Storage sectors. Raw material localisation is critical in such strategic sectors.”

Satish Pai added, “Hindalco is thus making various investments in battery materials and technologies towards building Atma Nirbhar Bharat. Investment in this new battery foil mill is another such step in this direction.”

The company has already achieved the technological breakthrough of manufacturing fine-quality battery foils at its Mouda unit in Maharashtra.

The company said, “The Mouda unit is currently in the process of qualifying with Lithium-ion cell manufacturers in India, Europe and the United States. The new unit in Odisha will further augment capability to supply material to Gigafactories across the world.”

All the strategic investments made by the company will help it transform from a metal manufacturer to a provider of high-tech metal solutions.