Epsilon’s lithium-ion battery anode project gets government nod

Epsilon Advanced Materials has received approval for its anode material, a critical component of lithium-ion cells, under the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS) of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

The project has been approved for Rs 145 crore in capex support, equivalent to 25% of the project’s capital investment, under the scheme.

Notably, Epsilon is the only company to receive approval in this tranche of ECMS approvals for manufacturing anode material, a critical component of lithium-ion cells.

The approval marks an important step towards establishing a domestic supply chain for critical battery materials. 
Epsilon’s project is aimed at building indigenous technology and large-scale manufacturing capability for graphite anode materials in India, supporting the country’s growing requirements across electric mobility and battery energy storage systems.

The company has already commissioned India’s first graphite anode material customer qualification plant, EAM-ONE, at Vijayanagar, Karnataka, and is progressing towards commercial-scale manufacturing. The company plans to scale its graphite anode capacity to 30,000 tons per annum by 2028 and 100,000 tons in the second phase.

“Building a resilient battery ecosystem requires ownership of technology, intellectual property, R&D and process know-how. This support will help accelerate our scale-up and strengthen India’s domestic battery materials value chain,” said Vikram Handa, Managing Director, Epsilon Group.

Epsilon plans to export most of its anode production to US-based customers, Handa had told BT earlier.

The company also has an R&D centre and a cathode pilot line in Germany. “We are looking to build a 30,000-tonne plant in Karnataka. That will break ground before the end of the year and commission by early 2028,” Handa told BT.

“About 30,000 tonnes of cathode that we plan to make will cater to 15 GWh of cell making. For that, we will require 5,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate,” said Handa, adding that the company sources lithium from China, Australia and South America.