Hindalco Industries plans Rs 800 crore unit in Odisha to tap EV ecosystem

Aditya Birla Group’s Hindalco Industries said on Tuesday it will invest Rs 800 crore to set up a battery aluminium foil plant in Odisha as it evaluates opportunities in the electric mobility value chain.

The 25,000-tonne plant will be commissioned by July 2025. “The company is investing Rs 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,” said the company in a statement.

Hindalco expects national demand for battery-grade aluminium foil will touch 40,000 tonnes by 2030. The unit “will begin with a dominant export mix. As global markets grow, we will evaluate further investments,” said Satish Pai, managing director of Hindalco, in an e-mail response. The target market will be abroad and domestically.

Hindalco is in the process of qualifying as a supplier with lithium-ion cell manufacturers in India, Europe and the United States. “In the EV value chain, we are focusing on battery enclosures, bus bars, cooling plates and other EV parts which are made of aluminium,” Pai said. On participating in critical minerals auctions, Pai said, “We will evaluate.”

Hindalco has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Phinergy, a metal-air battery technology firm, and IOC Phinergy, a joint venture between Phinergy and the Indian Oil Corporation. The MoU commits to research, development and pilot production of plates for aluminium-air batteries, and recycling of aluminium after usage in batteries. Pai said this project is in the development stage and in line with MoU timelines and independent of Tuesday’s announcement.

Commenting on the demand for such battery foil, Pai said in the press statement, “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 localization is critical in such strategic sectors.”